A Painful Reunion: Original Manuscript
by Learlorde
Summary: This is a posting of the original APR story after I recently started writing a revamp...Amidst the mourning of their losses, a critically wounded Tony escapes Titan with Nebula and reunites with the Avengers left on Earth. During these efforts, the Avengers strive to pick up the pieces as Tony struggles to recover after his severe encounter with Thanos.
1. Home

**ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT || REWRITE IS BEING POSTED AT DEAR MR FANTASY**

**A Foreword to A Painful Reunion**

First, I want to say I rarely call a movie a masterpiece, but Infinity War took my breath away. I applaud Marvel and the Russo brothers for their patience and courage, and the cast and crew for spending a decade on this beloved franchise. It falls in accord with Endgame since I consider Infinity War and Endgame Part 1 and Part 2. Endgame took us to unexpected places and looking at the reality of our world and how people deal with loss, I appreciate it for doing something that no franchise has ever gone before. I won't get much into Endgame spoilers, but I left the theater more depressed then I left the theater for Infinity War, I was literally crying while driving home from the theater. The MCU will never be the same after Endgame and I'm not sure how I feel about that because I hate change and some of the characters I grew up with won't be coming back. I think Endgame ended beautifully and I also think there was no better way for some characters to go out the way they did, but nevertheless, I'm still coping.

I started this story right after Infinity War came out and even after Endgame I plan on finishing it, along with a few other Avengers stories I'd like to write. So, these stories are here to help people cope and find a next or a "new journey" after what seemed like the end after Endgame, but it's not a fix it story.

**NOT A FIX IT STORY**

This story is going through a renovations/revamp, so I can edit and fix up the story to make it the best I can and smooth things out considering creative choices.

**This is why I'm posting the original story, in case people want to come back and read it. The revamped version is currently in writing and is now titled Dear Mr Fantasy for those new to this story that would like to see the new version.**

Please, enjoy.

**warning** for angsty, intense, graphic descriptions in future chapters

* * *

**A Painful Reunion**

1 of ?

Home

* * *

**TITAN**

Dust blew across the desolate corpse of Titan, the wasteland moaning in agony under the setting sun. Tony sat there, holding his hands over his face as tears settled in his eyes. Never before had he felt demolished of hope and so full of guilt and grief. Of course, he could think about being stuck in that cave with Yinsen, but not even that could compare to this. They almost had the gauntlet and they failed, they lost and now he was alone, trapped on this planet far from home. Why couldn't it have been him instead of Peter, Tony should have made sure he made it back to Earth. In fact, he should be dead.

Reaching down to his abdomen, he held the grisly stab wound left by the sword; it was temporarily closed from the binding agent he used. Tony took a few deep, harrowing breaths as the pain remained. The binding agent helped to numb it slightly, but it wasn't enough. It was a miracle he was still alive, but it _was_ temporary and it wouldn't last long. Tony needed to get home. He needed to see if Pepper...what if she was dead? What if Bruce...or even...Steve? Tony felt his chest tightening at the horrific thought that they could all be dead, just as Peter (Parker), Strange, Quill and his people turned to ash. His breaths grew labored in panic. How was he going to get home?

With effort, Tony tried getting to his feet, but stumbled with a great wince and fell to his knee. "You might not want to do that," said the female voice. Tony looked over his shoulder at the blue woman. He had seen too much too fast, with hardly the time to absorb the idea that he was in space, on another planet, with people from other worlds, but differences were quickly thrown aside in the shared motivation to kill Thanos. This woman seemed to be made of mechanical parts, and despite her assassin stature, she was sitting as he was, with a mournful look on her face.

"_You_, what's...your name?" Tony asked forcefully as he tried to get back up, but failed. Instead, he shifted on his knee to sit back down. He felt pain, exhaustion, he lost blood, and he was emotionally and mentally defeated and desperate.

"Nebula," she responded quietly.

For a few moments, they both sat there in silence, listening to the thunder in the distance. "Did you know them? Quill and..." he trailed off; it was taking much more energy to talk then Tony had thought. It hurt and it left him exhausted.

"They weren't friends, but my sister was with them. Gamora," Nebula swallowed, looking down at her hands before gazing out at the horizon. "Thanos took both her and my homeworlds and took us to be his daughters," she glanced at Tony who sat there sympathetically. "He traded her life for the Soul Stone. And she did that so he'd stop torturing me." A single tear nearly ran down her cheek as guilt captured in her eyes.

The billionaire exchanged an understanding look with Nebula. Guilt riddled Tony, aching in his bones and weeping, knowing that half the universe was dead because Strange traded the Time Stone for is life. He begged Strange not to, he shouldn't have, he should've let Thanos kill him...Breaking the moment, Tony glanced at the ground. He felt so lost, he didn't know what to say or do...it was all over. He could still taste the blood in his mouth and immediately was thirsty. "Do you..know how to get off this..planet?" He hoped Nebula would because he had no idea how to get home.

She glanced at the damaged pod she crashed into Thanos with. It was broken beyond repair, which made her look over her shoulder at the Milano, which remained in the distance. "Quill's ship," Nebula said, gesturing with her head to the slick orange and blue spaceship.

Grimacing, Tony gradually inched closer to Nebula. "Do you know Earth?" He pressed, panting, but all he received from her was a confused look. "Okay...what about Midgard? Where Quill was..from originally?"

"You mean Terra? Midgard is what Asgardians call it," she answered.

"It's called Earth," he returned.

"We call it Terra," Nebula replied, slightly bitter.

Tony looked at her, usually, he'd throw some sarcastic banter, but it was gone. Sadness crept across his face as he complied with a heavy heart, "That beautiful blue world..is called Earth...Can you help me..get home?"

"Why should I care, I don't even know you," Nebula said roughly.

"Why shouldn't..you?" Tony countered, agitated yet straining to be calm. "Where're you going..to go? We're both..tra- please, I have people...I need to get back to. If you have nowhere to go...come with me. Please, I need your help..." Achingly, he pulled up the bloodstained zip-hood, to show the mortal wound. The incision was still bloody, although held together by the binding agent from the suit. "That's..temporary, but it won't last. Please," he winced, almost with a mixture of desperation and fear as blood trickled down his torso, "This isn't about one person...or one race anymore, this is about..all of us now...Don't..leave me here."

Nebula shifted her eyes from the wound to Tony's eyes as he pulled his clothes back over the injury. "Fine. I've never been to Earth, but I know where it's located," she reciprocated.

Inhaling and exhaling a few heavy breaths, Tony rested on a piece of debris, feeling a sliver of hope and relief. "I'm Tony..by the way," he moaned in pain, looking at her with acknowledgment.

"Stay here, I'll bring the ship closer," Nebula said with a depressed demeanor, but she got up and headed towards the ship.

Tony did as told, leaning back and breathing shallow breaths. Gazing up at the darkening sky, Tony winced, remembering Peter grabbing onto him. Tony told him it was okay, but that was a lie...That kid, why did it have to be the kid. If they'd just done one thing differently, they could have beat Thanos. The more he thought about it, the more he felt a lump growing in his throat. He felt sick to his stomach and found himself dazing as if he was dead inside until his eyelids became heavy. He tilted his head towards the direction he was stabbed and saw the sword still laying there where he pulled it out. One thought came to his head...Pepper. He wanted her _so_ badly right now. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." he whispered, hearing Pepper's voice echoing in his head when she learned he was on the ship. That crippled his heart, realizing that he may not make it home...and she knew that.

The dust around him started to scatter as Nebula landed the ship about thirty feet away. He lifted his head seeing the impressive spacecraft, quite glad that she didn't leave him stranded. With painful groans, Tony used the debris to pull himself to his feet as the ramp to the ship opened. As he staggered towards the ship, Tony stopped over the bloodied sword and stared at it soullessly, thinking to when Thanos impaled him with it. Hesitantly, he reached down and dragged it behind him to the ship, where he angrily dropped it on the floor. Weakly lowering onto a seat, Tony sighed in agony. He struggled to stay awake, but he had to, so he kept his thoughts with Pepper as Nebula led their escape from Titan.

* * *

**WAKANDA**

The Earth was tainted quiet, silently weeping in accord to the tragedy that struck. Any speck of hope had been sucked into a realm unreachable to the haunted souls that survived. The Avengers sat there in a large lounging quarter overlooking the beautiful, yet suffering land of Wakanda which now laid under spilled blood. Unbearable anguish flooded the halls as the Wakandans took care of their wounded and dead, the ones who hadn't crippled to ash. Shuri was kind enough to send healers to take care of any injuries the Avengers had received during the battle, but she soon needed to rest and grieve with Okoye over their dead King and her mother.

Steve, Natasha, Bruce, Rhodey, and Thor, in their moments of despair, didn't speak any words. They sat there together, feeling nothing but death in their grasp. It didn't matter how strong they were or how strong they pretended to be; tears welled in their eyes. A hole rested in their hearts, and it was something far more significant than they'd ever felt. Not even the worst of the past could level the catastrophe and misery that had disintegrated all happiness, laughter, and light. Never had they lost before, and it was a living hell. Sam, Bucky, Wanda, and Vision were gone... and the only thing they had was Vision's cold and colorless corpse lying under a sheet. When it was over, they'd spent a long time trying to call everyone they knew, in a frenzy to see what more people they lost. But the phones were quiet now, and there was nothing more to do...it was over.

Rocket sat far in the distance, by the windows alone. He'd been sitting there for at least as long as they had, maybe even longer. Gazing at his reflection in the glass as the sun disappeared, Rocket tried remembering the last time he felt so much sorrow and alienation. Perhaps being experimented on, but...not knowing whether his friends were alive or not; that cut deep.

Drawing attention to Rocket, Thor looked over his shoulder at the raccoon's small silhouette. Reticently, Thor contemplated for a moment before getting to his feet. His movement made his friends' heads lift, and they watched him as he approached Rocket. "May I sit?" Thor asked gently. Rocket didn't respond, but Thor settled down beside the small friend anyway. "I'm sorry about your tree friend, Groot," he comforted wholeheartedly.

"We lost Groot once before," Rocket started weakly, "He saved me and my friends during a confrontation with Ronan, in attempt to take the Power Stone away from him...I never thought I'd lose him again." He sighed. Empathetic, Thor turned his eyes to where Rocket was looking out the window. "I'm sorry about your family," Rocket finished, knowing Thor knew exactly what he was going through.

"Thank you, Rabb-"

"It's Rocket," he interrupted, anxiously hoping to correct Thor's name for him.

"Rocket," Thor acknowledged as a few Wakandans entered the quarters, bringing hot food and water to the exhausted and mourning Avengers. "Would you like something to eat or drink?" he asked.

"I don't think I have the appetite," Rocket replied.

"I don't think anyone does," Thor said, looking over his shoulder to Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and Rhodey who didn't seem too interested in the food. At this point, full bellies and a good night sleep seemed like something they didn't deserve.

"But, I am a bit thirsty," he admitted.

"Stay here, I'll bring you something," Thor told him before getting up and returning to his friends. Rocket glanced over his shoulder, seeing some of the strangers looking at him. It made his fur prickle...Why the hell did people always have to stare at him?

Thor sat back down next to Natasha, on one of the few couches, but he didn't get comfortable knowing he'd be getting back up soon. A few eyes fell on him and he heard Rhodey asked, "Who is he?" Thor looked at Rhodey, who sat across from him.

With a sigh, Thor quietly answered, "That is Rocket. He was with people, friends who came to the distress signal sent from our ship when Thanos attacked us." Thor temporarily lowered his voice so Rocket couldn't hear the next part. "There used to be a race that illegally experimented on animals. It seems he was a subject...best not mention that around him and don't let that fool you, he's very intelligent." Glancing over his shoulder to look at Rocket once more, he waved a hand at the raccoon, beckoning him to join them. "Rocket," he called softly. Rocket, hesitant, got up and gradually wandered towards them. Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and Rhodey could tell he was nervous, but there was also tremendous grief on his features that mirrored their own. "Rocket, this is Natasha Romanov, Steve Rogers, Rhodey, and Bruce Banner,' Thor introduced for them.

The five of them exchanged mere nods of greeting. After a few moments, Rocket looked at Thor. "Is there a transmitter here somewhere? So I can try contacting Quill. I need to be sure he and the others are safe."

Instead, Natasha answered, "Yeah, we have transmitters."

"Unfortunately, I don't think they can reach anywhere outside of Earth," Bruce imputed.

"Well..." Rocket was almost ready to plant a crude joke, but he realized how damaged everybody was at the moment. "Could I at least check them out? I may be able to alter them to reach the distance I need."

"Will that work?" Steve asked after remaining consistently quiet.

"I'm not sure if that's possible, but feel free to mess around with it," Bruce responded.

Rocket gave a grateful nod to Bruce as Natasha softly pitched in, "Here, I'll take you there." She got up, to which Thor joined the two as they rounded the couch. Advancing on the concessions table that was brought out for them behind the sofa, Rocket scurried up to stand on the back of the sofa, helping himself to a cup of water. As he did, there was suddenly a ringing that came from Rhodey's direction.

Thor and the humans had perked up in hope as Rhodey stood up, answering the call with relief, "Pepper!" Of course, Rocket didn't know who this was, but the name sparked relief among Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and Thor.

Truth be told, Steve didn't care what happened between him and Tony, both Tony and Pepper were still part of their family. Hearing she was on the other end of the line was everything at the moment. They tried calling her earlier, but nobody answered, leaving them in the presumption that Pepper was dead as well. _"Rhodey..."_ Pepper reprieved. Rhodey laid a hand on his forehead, knowing from the sound of her voice she had been crying.

"Where is she?" Steve urged, lifting to his feet as Rhodey paced slightly.

"Pepper, where are you?" Rhodey asked, trying to remain calm, but the emotion was creeping back to him.

_"At home, in New York,"_ she sniffled. _"My mom is gone...people just started to vanish."_ Rhodey rubbed at his eyes; there was no way he could comfort her. In no way was this going to turn out okay. _"Please tell me you know what's going on...please tell me you've heard from Tony,"_ her voice cracked.

Rhodey looked down at the floor; he didn't know how to respond as tears collected in his own eyes. "Pepper..."

She knew what the answer was, but she pleaded in denial, _"Please, please tell me you've heard from him."_

"...I'm sorry...there's been no word from Tony since..." When the others heard of Tony's name, their heads dipped, except for Thor who had not heard this news. Nobody was willing to say it, but they all knew it was likely he was dead.

_"I told him...I told him to get off the ship,"_ she struggled with getting the words out. Rhodey could tell by her voice, Pepper was trying to stay calm, but hysteria was slowly dawning. _"We might never see him again."_

Rhodey's heart shattered when she said that. He wiped the water from his eye, trying to honor what he said next, "I know...he was doing what he thought was right." He paused for a moment, trying to control the overwhelming emotion, "Pepper, I'm going to come and get you, okay? Stay at the house, grab only what you need."

With a few breaths, she replied, _"...okay...please get here as soon as possible."_

"I will," Rhodey promised, ending the call.

"Stark is missing?" Thor chimed in.

"Strange had the Time Stone. They came for him with a ship and Tony went after them to save Strange..." Bruce trailed off, breaking his eye contact with Thor for a second, swallowing the lump in his throat. "...seems Thanos got the time stone..." he finished in a tone that presented the evidence that both Tony and Strange were gone. There was nothing worse than not knowing what happened, especially having his best friend taken so suddenly moments after they reunited after nearly three years.

Thor remained speechless, wishing he could give them an answer, but trying to find one human in the universe..."There may be a way to track the ship your friend was on," Rocket suddenly said, making everyone's attention shift towards him. "Those giant spikes out in the field should be connected to the mother ship. Through that, there may be a way to detect where each of Thanos' ships are located," the raccoon explained.

"See, I told you he was clever," Thor complimented, yet in no way that lifted their spirits.

"I guess it's worth a shot," Steve supported, not knowing what else to do. Their souls were still branded in grief, and it wasn't going to heal anytime soon. "Can you show us how that works?" Rocket gave a nod to the super soldier's question.

"I'm going with Rhodey to get Pepper," Bruce murmured, rising from the chair he was sitting in.

"Are you bringing her here to Wakanda?" Natasha asked.

"Yeah," Rhodey sighed, before adding, "Alright, we'll see you guys shortly."

"Be careful," Steve said, to which they gave nods of gratitude before going their separate ways.

* * *

**NEW YORK**

The quinjet flew over Tony and Pepper's new mansion that sat on the coast. It was beautiful, with trees covering the property and large glass windows giving gorgeous views of the Atlantic ocean...it used to be until Thanos snapped his fingers. The mansion still stood, but the loss of so many souls left no sun to bare. Hovering over the entrance, the quinjet lowered on the round-a-bout driveway as the door of the jet unfolded. Rhodey and Bruce exited the jet as Pepper came out of the mansion with a backpack. When they met in the middle, her already reddened eyes started filling with tears again as she wrapped her arms around Rhodey with a sob.

"Are you okay?" Rhodey asked her gently.

"Yeah," she mumbled, breaking from Rhodey and hugging Bruce.

"Hey," Bruce said tenderly, embracing the hug comfortingly.

"Who else is with you?" Pepper questioned, wiping her eyes as she took a few steps back from Bruce.

"Natasha, Steve, and Thor," Bruce responded sorrowfully, adding, "We're staying in Wakanda. It's much more secure there."

Absorbing the information with some relief, Pepper nodded. "We need to go, do you have everything you need?" Rhodey inquired, to which Pepper nodded a second time. "Okay, let's go," he continued quietly, leading the three of them back to the quinjet, but Pepper suddenly stopped without them knowing. In hardship, she gazed over her shoulder, back at the mansion she and Tony had built together, where they were supposed to be married.

"Pepper.." she heard Bruce say her name as he took her arm. Pepper looked at him in pain, and after a second of sharing that emotion, they walked up to join Rhodey in the quinjet.

The trip was eerily silent, just as life had now become. It felt like they were being dragged on concrete, slowly and tortuously as if the twenty minutes in the air had turned to twenty years...but then Pepper's phone vibrated.

Immediately, she stood up as she sat next to Bruce, and frantically answered, knowing the caller ID, "Oh my god, oh my god, Tony!"

Both Bruce and Rhodey shot their attention towards her as she ran a hand over her hair, hearing his voice, _"Pepper..."_

* * *

**to be continued...**


	2. Dancing With Fatality

**ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT || REWRITE IS BEING POSTED AT DEAR MR FANTASY**

* * *

**A Painful Reunion**

2 of ?

Dancing With Fatality

* * *

**EARTH**

_"Hey!"_

Hearing the sharp, frustrated yell and a fiery roar, Tony felt his whole body jolt awake. With raspy breaths, he painfully supported himself on his elbow while realizing he'd blacked out and was laying across seats. "We're entering the atmosphere," he heard Nebula hiss, "Do you have any idea where I'm supposed to go?" Dully, Tony tried blinking, but he could feel his eyes wanting to roll back in his head...he knew that wasn't a good sign. His vision soon sorted itself out though as he realized there was blood under him.

"Shit..." he uttered under his breath hoarsely. Slouching in the seat, Tony summoned his armor onto his hand solely. Pulling the torn clothing aside, Tony aimed the binding agent at the wound that was starting to bleed through. When that was done, he leaned his head back trying to catch his breath. "Friday..." he started, pausing with a wheeze, "send the coordinates of home to this ship." His armor was still badly damaged, but he was sure Friday was still working.

"Boss, that will be allowing access to an unknown server. Do you want to proceed?" The AI asked.

"Yes, proceed," Tony ordered in agitation, as he reached around to his back, using the binding agent on the exit wound. The bleeding edge armor retreated back into his skin as he figured he'd stopped the blood the best he could...he knew it wouldn't be enough, he needed pressure on the wound, but he had no towels or gauze, and he didn't have the energy to search Quill's ship. Even then...Tony was starting to feel scared. He was already cheating death with the binding agent, but without it, he would have bled out in minutes on Titan...There were plenty of times in his past where the shroud of death nearly enclosed Tony...the shrapnel, palladium poisoning, taking the nuke through the portal, he almost drowned...Tony could recall countless other times, but having a sword speared through his gut...that was new and the pain was excruciating. Whenever he looked at the incision, he grimaced and forced himself to fix his eyes on something else. It was very surreal and it made him cringe seeing the wound ripping from the lower right side of his chest and through his abdomen. It was sickening and fatal, and the only reason he wasn't dead was because he was dancing around with its fatality.

**NEW YORK**

Tony wasn't keeping track of the time, being too occupied on steadying his breathing. He kept swallowing, tasting the fresh blood that started crawling back up his throat while he was blacked out. Most of it was washed out now, but he could he feel it clotting in his throat like a bloody nose did. "Is this where we're supposed to be?" Nebula questioned sharply, almost as if she was annoyed and could care less about Tony being half dead. While continuing to hold the wound, Tony pulled himself onto his feet to flank Nebula in the cockpit. Hunching slightly and wincing, he let himself fall into one of the seats with a control panel, knowing he was losing his strength to support himself.

In front of them were screens that showed what laid ahead of them, but they also had a field view through the mighty windows. Tony could see the glistening Atlantic ocean under the glorious hues of the setting sun, and fleetly approaching was the shore, where his modernized mansion stood. He couldn't help a shallow grin crossing his lips...at least he was home, on Earth. He'd never been so happy to see this wonderful planet.

"Yeah, land on the balcony," Tony said, to which Nebula brought Quill's ship to a hover over the enormous, stunning balcony that nearly stretched across the whole second floor of the mansion. It was designed for large gatherings, which occurred very often in Tony's life. When the ship was landed, Tony went as quickly as he could through the glass doors into the hallway, shouting, "Pepper!" Reaching the railing, he gazed down at the first floor. He was too injured to go down there. "Pepper!" he bellowed in agony, but there was still no answer, and that's when the panic set in.

With a more leisurely pace, Nebula followed him with the sword at her side. She looked quite awestruck at the size and allure of the living quarters, not used to such nice things or even somewhere to call a home. To be honest, she felt quite lost...more than anything she wanted revenge for her sister; she wanted Thanos dead with his head on a platter. A part of Nebula didn't want to waste any more time, she did a service and got the human home, but it wasn't her problem whether he lived, died, or found his friends. However, deep in her heart, she knew she couldn't stop Thanos alone, and it surprised her at how long Tony held his own against her father. Even after getting stabbed, he had the will to get home...

Nebula stayed where she was as Tony headed towards the bedroom, calling again, "Pepper!" When he entered the bedroom, he grabbed the door frame in exhaustion. His breaths were rough wheezes that shook his stature. "Friday, call Pepper," Tony demanded, as he careened over to the dresser, where he and Pepper's wedding rings were supposed to be. They were gone.

_"Oh my god, oh my god, Tony!"_ Pepper answered with an emotional cry of relief.

Reprieved, Tony calmed his breathing the best could, responding, "Pepper..." He leaned down, supporting his elbow on the dresser to rest.

_"Oh my god, we thought you were dead,"_ Pepper's voice cracked.

"Yeah, so did I," Tony commented with a ragged breath.

_"What's wrong, are you okay?"_ She asked as Tony looked towards the bathroom.

"Where are you?" Are you safe?" He ignored, making it to the bathroom to search for gauze.

* * *

**THE QUINJET**

"Where am I?" Pepper spoke exasperated, considering Tony was the one who'd gone missing on a spaceship. "Where are you?" Rhodey and Bruce were standing beside her, listening intently to her responses to whatever Tony was telling her, both looking relieved yet concerned.

_"Home,"_ Tony said. She could hear him shuffling around for something.

"Home?" She looked at Rhodey and Bruce confused while replying to Tony, "We were just there twenty minutes ago." Hearing this, Rhodey immediately returned to the cockpit and turned the jet around. "I'm on the quinjet with Bruce and Rhodey. We're coming to get you...Tony, it's going to be okay," Pepper tried to comfort, not knowing what Tony saw out there. She and Bruce swayed to hold onto something as the jet tilted and glided in the opposite direction.

_"Do you have our rings?"_ Tony murmured weakly, out of breath.

"What?" Pepper puzzled. She was prepared to continue, but Tony quickly pushed in.

_"Our rings."_ The desperation and rashness in her fiance's voice leaked through the phone. _"Do you have them?"_

Looking over at the backpack she brought with her, she said, "Yeah, I do." When the words were out, Tony went silent. "Tony?" Dread and deep worry returned to her. She'd heard the faltering pain and strife of Tony's breaths and words. Other questions had been answered first, but she knew he had to be hurt. "Tony...I need you to tell me what happened," she pleaded, leaning against the wall of the quinjet.

_"It..it's a long story, babe,"_ Tony sighed achingly as Bruce started to pace anxiously. He hoped to get some answers from Pepper, but she was not letting go of the phone.

"Are you hurt?" Pepper could feel her throat straining with emotion.

Tony had grown quiet, but with hesitance, he couldn't lie, _"...yeah..."_ Pepper laid a hand over her mouth, trying to contain some level of calmness and strength as he said, _"...it's not promising..."_

Exchanging a scared glance with Bruce, she pressed with a sorrowful breath, "Where are you hurt?" Tony didn't answer, which brought tears back to Pepper's eyes. "Tony...Tony, I need you to tell me where you're hurt."

_"Pepper...I just.."_ Tony suppressed with a broken voice, knowing the whole truth would be like twisting a knife through the heart. _"I need you to hurry."_ He paused, and Pepper could feel her soul crying for him, hearing his fatigue. _"Can you stay on the phone with me?"_ he begged.

"Yeah," she reassured soothingly, trying to fight the lump in her throat, "yeah, I'm here."

As she said this, Bruce quickly advanced to the cockpit, where Rhodey was piloting. Urgently, he arrayed, "Friday, get online with Steve Rogers, tell him it's an emergency."

* * *

**NEW YORK**

It was getting harder to breathe...Tony could feel the cold lingering on his skin, despite the warm spring evening. The cold was enough to send a rigid shiver that shook his body with pain as he held layers of gauze to the wound. Luckily, the binding agent was still holding out, but it was slowly starting to dissolve. At this point, he wasn't sure how much blood he'd lost, but it was enough that it took its toll on him...he could feel his body shutting down, and it frightened him because he wasn't sure how long he could keep fighting.

Across from him, sitting cross-legged on the floor was Nebula. He was able to persuade her to move Quill's massive ship, so the quinjet had somewhere to land. With that done, the sword rested on her knee as they waited and waited...With Friday keeping Pepper on the line, she definitely helped pass the time, but this short twenty minutes sure felt like an eternity...especially with Tony hanging on by a thread. "Tony..." Tony glanced over at the balcony doors that connected to the bedroom, where Pepper, Rhodey, and Bruce came rushing in.

Wincing, Tony used his deteriorating strength and weakly forced himself to his feet as they spotted Nebula. Startled, they halted as Rhodey pulled out a gun, "Whoa! Whoa! Who's she?" Nebula quickly jumped to her feet with the sword in hand, growing tense.

"Rhodey, she's a friendly!" Tony crucially projected, holding up a hand as a signal for Rhodey to lower the weapon. "She's on our side," he added quickly with a pant, placing his hand back on his abdomen, "She's on our side...she helped me get home." Doing his best to look towards Nebula, he said, "...Nebula, drop the sword..." She still remained a bit hostile, but Rhodey, trusting Tony, lowered his weapon and Nebula did the same.

Resolving that situation, Tony gazed affectionately at Pepper as she approached him. "Oh my god, oh my god, Tony..." she almost shrieked in fear, abruptly stopping with her hands held out towards him as she saw the abundance of blood on his hoodie. "What can I do?" she asked in shock and panic. Tony didn't have the energy to respond, so he pulled her into a hug. Heavy breaths escaped his lungs as he rested his head on her shoulder, feeling her arms wrapping tightly around him in comfort. Immediately though, Tony could feel his body give in, and he was weighing Pepper down as he started to collapse. "Ton- Rhodey, Rhodey grab him!" Pepper gasped as Tony began slipping from her grasp.

Rhodey and Bruce hastily flanked on either side of Tony, grabbing his sides and under his arms. "Tony," Rhodey muttered his friend's name as Pepper still clasped onto Tony's arms as the three of them lowered him to the floor.

"Wait, wait, don't lay him down," Bruce warned, "he's bleeding from the back...set him against the dresser." Together, they moved him a few inches until his back was against the dresser once again. Rhodey and Bruce were knelt on either side of him, while Pepper sat in front of him, by his bent knee.

There were already gauze on the floor, but Bruce speedily went off to the bathroom as Rhodey put a hand on Tony's shoulder. "Tony..." he said solemnly, but Tony's attention span was spiraling, and all he did was merely shift his eyes towards him.

"It's good to see you," Tony whispered, hoping Rhodey could understand him through his faltering words.

"Hang in there," Rhodey concurred with unbearable apprehension as Bruce returned with a couple of white hand towels. As Bruce lowered beside Tony, Rhodey pulled the bottom of the zip-hoodie up. Tony grimly moaned and looked elsewhere while squinting his eyes shut, knowing their reactions. He could hear their bewildered and horrified gasps at the location and size of the wound.

"Did Thanos do this?" Bruce asked with a gloomy tone as he quickly pressed a towel to Tony's back and abdomen. "...Tony?" Rhodey's hand replaced Bruce's in holding the towel to the entrance wound.

When Tony opened his eyes, he looked forward where he saw a few tears streaming down Pepper's face. "...with..the sword..." He gestured with his head past Pepper to where Nebula stood several feet away, holding the sword. Pepper, Rhodey, and Bruce looked at it direly, seeing the deadly width of the weapon.

Bruce looked at Tony with great sympathy before he exchanged a quick glance with Rhodey and Pepper, sharing an incredible amount of hopelessness and terror, knowing that saving Tony might not be possible. "Tony, what'd you use on this wound?" Bruce continued tenderly, wishing he could examine the wound better, but there was too much blood covering it.

"It's a...this binding agent," Tony trailed off, "...pretty crazy, huh?"

"It's just..." Bruce was still speechless at how Tony could possibly be alive with such a wound. So were Pepper and Rhodey. "Tony, this wound...You shouldn't even be alive," Bruce was blunt, before adding alarmingly, "I don't know how to fix this."

"Friday, where's the nearest hospital?" Pepper asked the AI, before asking Rhodey. "What about the Avengers Compound?" She looked wholly broken and on the edge of almost losing it to her emotions. The number of times she'd nearly lost Tony was too much for a lifetime, but seeing him like this, nearly torn up...her serenity was about to shatter.

"We should take him to Wakanda," Bruce chimed seriously, "Even if there are doctors left in the hospitals, they'll be swamped by panicked civilians. And Wakanda may have better medicine and technology to fix a wound like this." Bruce was doing his best not to call the wound fatal with Tony and Pepper sitting beside them, but that's what the wound was.

"Wakanda is too far away for him to travel," Rhodey countered, not wanting to take any risks.

Getting emotional, Bruce confronted Rhodey, "Rhodey, half of the people on the planet have been wiped out." He was scared for Tony's life, "Do you want something that's fast and questionable or something that'll save Tony's life?" They all became silent, except for Tony's breathing...Bruce realized that was harsh to say, but it was true. He didn't want Tony to die too, none of them did, especially knowing how much death there'd been...three billion people, and that was just on Earth. What about the rest of the universe?

"There are no able bodies at the Avengers Facility," Friday noted, making this mourning worse, knowing almost all the people working in the Avengers' Facility were gone.

Shaky breaths started catching in Pepper's throat as she began to panic in dismay. She didn't know what to do... With a hand on her forehead, she looked down at the floor. The piling of emotions was at its breaking point. Bruce and Rhodey glanced at her, and Bruce moved a few inches, trying to lay a comforting hand on her. "Pepper," he said, knowing and feeling her torment.

"P..Pepper," Tony stuttered, feeling the lump returning to his throat, "...please, don't.."

Distressed, Pepper in agitation, moved Bruce's hand aside, starting, "Just.." With her hands, she motioned for Bruce to get out of the way and he did. They swapped places, where she sat next to her fiance and gently grabbed his hand. "I told you to get off that damn ship," she said in frustration with a crushed voice, and her tears quickly drying. The overlap of emotions were fighting their way through her. She knew she could yell at Tony all she wanted, but it would only worsen the situation. Rhodey and Bruce weren't making up their minds, so she looked at Rhodey and decided, "We're going to Wakanda, like Bruce said." He looked at her with concern, questioning the decision, but she proceeded, "Help me get him up. _Now_."

Not arguing with her, Rhodey lifted Tony's arm over his shoulder as she did. Tony grimaced as they helped bring him to his feet. Drawing in sharp, tired breaths that soon grew shallow, Tony struggled to walk with them. "Come on, you got it," Rhodey tried encouraging Tony as the three of them headed towards the doors.

Bruce looked at Nebula, "You, are you coming or going? If you're coming, we're going _now_."

Nebula looked to be contemplating, she was almost compelled to go with them. She'd been watching the four of them from the sidelines, and she realized she'd never seen so much love and kindness towards a person before. She was raised to be cold, show no mercy, and to not waste her time on those who were dying. "I.." she began.

"Wait," Bruce was suddenly given a thought, "Do you happen to know Rocket?" All being on familiar ground, Bruce realized it was possible they knew each other with their same direction to kill Thanos.

"Who," she answered with a growl, "You mean that stupid fox?"

"Raccoon."

"Yeah, I know who he is," she said. Nebula could genuinely care less about Rocket, but her eyes grew full of grief thinking of Gamora. At this point, Rocket was the only one she knew and the only one she knew to be alive.

"He's with us, in Wakanda," Bruce said, to which Nebula struggled with the decision to do the right thing or to walk away.

"Fine," Nebula finished, quickly handing the sword over to Bruce and following him as he ran to open the door for Rhodey, Pepper, and Tony.

The walk out to the jet was an absolute misery... Tony felt like his heart was going to stop as the pressure in his chest kept building. "We're almost there," he heard Rhodey say beside him as he fought for each draining breath, but it slipped past his mind. All he could think about was laying down, he needed to lay down.

Darkness started to creep into his vision, and as soon as Rhodey and Pepper managed to drag him onto the quinjet, he stopped. "...need..to lay down..." he said meekly, starting to pull his hand off Rhodey's shoulder as he began lowering onto his knee.

"Tony!" Rhodey lamented, trying to keep hold of his descending hand.

"Oh my god, Tony," Pepper fretted, adding sternly as he let go of her shoulder, "don't you dare..."

"No, no, no," Bruce tried not to cry out in denial, setting the sword down and reaching Tony's front to try keeping him on his feet, "don't lay down..don't lay down."

The three of them held onto Tony as he fell to his knees, "...put me down..." he waned.

"Tony.." Bruce whined, knowing Tony didn't have a lot of time.

Straining, Tony severely compelled, "...on the floor...put me down...in the wing.."

"...Tony..." Pepper muttered in fear.

"Right now," Tony snapped.

Rhodey, Pepper, and Bruce were hesitant, but they did as he requested and were able to pull him a few feet further into the quinjet's left wing. Supporting himself on his hand with chilling groans of pain, he gingerly fell onto his side and rolled onto his back with their help. "Tony," Pepper whispered over him with exceeding dolor as she took his hand in hers, "...Tony..." Deep, mellowing breaths came from his lungs. "You have to stay with me," she pleaded, but he didn't respond. He stared up at the ceiling of the quinjet, fading in and out consciousness.

* * *

**to be continued...**


	3. No Sense Yet The Most Sense

**ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT || REWRITE IS BEING POSTED AT DEAR MR FANTASY**

* * *

**A Painful Reunion**

3 of ?

No Sense, Yet The Most Sense

* * *

**THE QUINJET**

The night was eerily silent as the quinjet pierced through the rueful sky, humming lightly at Mach 4, which was the fastest it could go. Mach 4 had never even been used to Bruce's knowledge, but in this situation, it was urgent. For the most part, the quinjet's LEDs were dimmed to night mode, except for the brighter ones in the left wing that kept Tony's unconscious body in light. A blanket had been placed under his head and draped over his body from the waist down, while an oxygen mask lay over his nose and mouth. His hoodie was zipped open, where the arc reactor was exposed with at least four heart monitor stickers on his chest. Several layers of gauze had been taped down over both wound entries, but they were staining crimson quickly; old, bloody gauze sat beside him in a pile on the floor. The bandages helped reduce the bleeding, but there was still blood painting the floor beneath Tony. Luckily, there were still IV bags and frozen units of blood stored on the quinjet. Bruce couldn't remember them being used very often in the past, but the Avengers were keen on keeping it for a rainy day...and right now, it was a gruesome storm.

At least it eased Bruce slightly, stalling the death that stalked Tony's soul. Bruce didn't know how long the binding agent was supposed to last, but Tony was starting to lose more blood every minute; at some point, Bruce suspected Tony to start losing blood as fast as they were giving him blood. That paralyzed him with fear...they were still about two hours from Wakanda. However, despite the bleeding and Tony's low vitals, they were remaining steady, and that was keeping some sanity for Rhodey, Pepper, and him. She hadn't left Tony's side, or even taken her terrified eyes off him; Pepper. Weariness had settled on her...well, all of them. They hadn't caught a whiff of sleep in about thirty-six hours, but rest was the last thing on their minds. Pepper remained awake, sitting leaned up against the wall next to Tony's head, while Bruce sat in a chair by the table a couple of feet away. Rhodey was still piloting, but every once in a while he'd come to check on Tony.

They were all praying for some change, that Tony would wake up, or at least survive the trip, but there was nothing more they could do for him. The sword, which had been laid on the table (as Nebula followed the quinjet with Quill's ship), had run through major organs; his kidney, his stomach was torn in half, the sword had broken through ribs and penetrated up through the lower part of his lung...it was grueling. They hadn't even gotten the chance to notify Steve, Natasha, or Thor, spending the first fifteen or twenty minutes of the flight trying to stabilize their friend the best they could.

Bruce looked down at his hands; they were smeared with dry blood. He had washed his hands several times already, but he'd given up knowing it was only a matter of time before he had to replace the bloodied gauze with new ones. Over towards the cockpit, he could hear Rhodey quietly speaking with Steve, explaining to him the grim news. Still holding emotion, Bruce rubbed his forehead in stress. He took a last glance at Tony before getting to his feet and going over to join Rhodey. "Hey," Bruce muttered to Steve and Natasha, sitting down with a disheartening sigh.

On the medium screen, Steve looked down as if he was bracing himself to hear that Tony died. There was some emotion of guilt on his features, and he was failing to hide it. "How is he?" he asked, without making eye contact. Natasha seemed like she was trying to fight her emotions, but she was showing a great deal of disturbance and disgust hearing Tony's condition.

Bruce laid his hand over his face for a moment, not knowing how to put this abhorrent situation into light words. Seeing Bruce's reaction, Steve swallowed with enormous worry curdling in his eyes. "Is he going to make it?" Steve continued, hoping the scientist would give him some reassurance as if all of this wasn't really happening.

"I don't know...he's losing blood and starting to go into kidney failure...he's having a hard time breathing too." Bruce was honest, which left a hopeless imprint, before questioning, "Did you see the pictures?"

"Yeah, we did," Natasha murmured discreetly, pausing, "and the diagram." Bruce was still unclear as to what happened between all of them (aside from what Rhodey told him), but having sent them pictures of the six-ish inch (15.24-ish cm) long wound and a virtual diagram of the damage, it seemed to make them forget very quickly. They still had fond memories of Tony, their friendships. What happened with the Accords, it was something nobody wanted; it was forced upon them, and horrible events occurred because of it. Rhodey had been paralyzed. Ross had placed all the 'criminals' in that excessive, cold prison under the ocean. How was it that a situation of life and death was the only way, to indeed, bring people together or bring people back together? It made no sense, yet made the most sense.

Steve still didn't regret saving Bucky...he paused for a moment, thinking of his friend turning to ash...or refusing the Accords, but he did feel guilty over the death of Tony's parents. In fact, he personally knew Howard Stark, and it hurt; it stung knowing Hydra was responsible and more so using Steve's best friend from childhood. At this point, Steve wished he told Tony the truth the moment he found out at his old training camp four years ago, but it was too late. Steve knew that had made a deep, emotional scar with Tony. He didn't mean for that to happen though, he intended to protect Tony from further pain...but, Steve was wrong, and he felt vast guilt for it. To be honest, Steve was scared for Tony's life.

"What did Shuri say?" Rhodey input, breaking Steve from his dazing thoughts.

"She can't make any promises, but their doctors here will do what they can," Natasha vaguely answered, "They're prepping an OR now."

Nobody had anything to say after Natasha said that...there was nothing more to say or do, except wait and hope Tony made it. Losing anybody was horrible, every life was of value, but Tony was an essential part and the most brilliant mind of the Avengers. If he died, that would be a catastrophic blow to his friends and to the world. When they had learned he was still alive and on Earth, that had almost lit a small light in their souls, but then they were told of the grievous injury...

For a few cherishing moments, Steve, Nat, Bruce, and Rhodey sat there in forlorn silence, needing each other's presence for comfort. After all they'd been through...at least they were still here together, and that was everything. As the depressing minutes rolled by, Steve had his forehead dipped and resting in his hand. There was a specific voice in his heart that kept eating away at him. He was growing hesitant, but the feeling was torturous. "Bruce..." he said, not looking at the screen.

"Yeah?" Bruce responded.

Steve looked up at the screen, folding his hands together anxiously. "If a..." he trailed off for a moment, knowing they were all listening. Thor was even sitting off to the side with Rocket. "If there's a chance Tony is conscious, I need to speak with him," Steve said. "If he..." the super soldier was trying to avoid the word 'die', "I need to make amends with him, in case..he..." It felt like a knife was slowly making it's way to Steve's heart as he rubbed his head again with a mournful huff. He felt Natasha benignly place her hand on his forearm.

"I will..." Bruce reassured, seeing the emotional pain lapping at both him and Natasha.

* * *

The pain was unreal... it was almost as bad as receiving open heart surgery in an Afghan cave and later receiving open heart surgery to remove said shrapnel from the Afghan cave. Hot and sharp white fire branded Tony's body and soul as he limply laid there, breathing incomplete, edgy breaths through the oxygen mask. He felt like he could choke on the amount of blood in his throat as he gritted his teeth in hushed moans of pain; especially whenever he felt hands putting pressure on the wound...it was aggravating. There was barely any energy left for him to move or speak, but every time his eyes slit open to the hazy, bright lights, he reminded himself he needed to tell Pepper something. But his consciousness never lasted long; it was mere seconds whenever it did, and right after remembering he needed to talk to Pepper, he couldn't fight the urge to let his eyes roll back in his head. It was an endless loop.

"Tony?" he heard a soft, muffled voice. It took Tony a long moment to realize he'd been staring at the ceiling of the quinjet for several minutes with half opened eyes. "Bruce..." Hearing the voice again, he slowly blinked, seeing his fiancee next to him. He could feel her holding his hand_...Pepper...he needed to tell her something, he..._

"Tony?" Tony saw Bruce appear in his field of view, coming to kneel at his side. "Can you hear me?" His friend asked as he continued to gaze at the ceiling with a glassy, dull gaze. He tried shifting his eyes in Bruce's direction, but when he did, his eyes rolled back. "Tony, wait," Bruce was urgent, yet gentle with his voice as he laid a hand on Tony's chest. The billionaire flinched at the touch and groaned... it felt like a snake was coiling itself around him, the pressure and pain growing ever so slightly. "I know..." Bruce was sympathetic to Tony's anguish. They had tried giving him something for the pain, but it hadn't worked. "You're doing good. Come on, keep your eyes open," the words were enough to coax Tony's eyes back open.

_Pepper...Pepper...he...to tell her something...he needed to tell her something..._Tony swallowed, trying to open his mouth to speak, but he was too weak_...Pepper..._Mild panic started to set in; he could feel his heart beating faster. "Tony," Pepper intervened with fear as the monitor with his vitals started throwing its alarms.

"What's wrong?" Rhodey bolted over to them as Tony started breathing harder, leaving Rhodey horrified in the thought that Tony was going into cardiac arrest.

"Tony, it's okay," Bruce said in a shriveled, terrified voice, "calm down, it's okay."

The pain rattled in Tony's chest_...Stark..._Tony's heart spiked in fear, racing uncontrollably as he heard that voice in his head. He squinted his eyes shut, remembering Thanos saying his name hauntingly...he called him by name...it sent a biting chill down his spine, recognizing the fear of being alone on Titan...how did Thanos know him? What if Thanos came back to finish them off?_...Pepper...he needed to tell her..._

"Tony, _shh_, _shh,_ listen to me," he heard Pepper, but the blood was still thrusting in his ears, "listen to me, listen to me, Tony, listen to me." Her hand was squeezing his so tightly as she tried speaking with a soothing voice_...had to tell her something...Pepper..._

"Is he...?" Rhodey was getting worked up with an overabundance of concern.

"It's not cardiac arrest," Bruce revealed, looking up over his shoulder at Rhodey, "he's panicking."

"Listen to me, listen to me," Pepper kept talking to him, which was helping. He took a deep, steady breath that started to drop his heart rate, "Tony, it's okay, listen to me, listen to me, it's okay." Watching Pepper, Bruce could see the immense strength she was holding onto despite how scared she was. Letting her take control of the situation, Bruce took his hands off Tony and sat there watching his heart rate gradually reduce. As it did, Tony's body quivered from a harsh shiver. Bruce wished he could pull the blanket up further over his cold frame, but he had to keep watch of the wound.

"We're twenty minutes from Wakanda," Rhodey noted anxiously, "the doctors are standing by." Receiving a nod from Bruce, Rhodey's brow became furrowed...Tony had been suffering for hours. Melancholy clouded in Rhodey's eyes as his best friend struggled to calm down. He knew cardiac arrest was a risk if he didn't. "Tony..." Rhodey got down on a knee and lightly placed a hand on Tony's bicep, "hang in there, we're almost there." Rhodey watched Tony's chest rigorously rise and fall as his eyelids started to droop shut...there was a stinging, sickening pain in Rhodey's heart, remembering how much Tony was there for him when he took that fall and became paralyzed. Tony was the reason he could walk again and this...this just wasn't fair. Rhodey's best friend was dying right in front of him, and there was nothing he could do for him, except be there.

When it seemed Tony was finally calmed, Rhodey staggered to his feet to return to piloting, but then the alarms started going off again. Rhodey immediately turned on his heels with trepidation. With the adrenaline and anxiety rushing through his veins, Tony shakily pulled his hand up to his mask. With his free hand, he winced as he feebly propped himself on his elbow, trying to pull the mask off.

Bruce's eyes widened at the stunt. "Wha- Tony! What the hell are you doing!?" Pepper and Rhodey were in alarm, as Bruce put a hand behind Tony to support him as he almost fell back down. He pressed a hand hard on the wound as the movement caused the freshly changed gauze to soak red. "You need to lay back down," Bruce nearly growled timidly and in bewilderment, "Tony..." This would have been a lot worse if Tony was still hooked to the IV and blood unit, but he wasn't luckily; they had been used up.

"Tony, lay back down," Pepper revulsed, grabbing hold of his hand trying to take off the mask, "Tony, I swear to God..."

"..I...stta...Pe.." he stuttered and failed as blood leaked from his mouth.

_"Tony!"_ Bruce complied in alarm, trying to stabilize Tony with his hands. "Take it easy, take it easy..." he said tenderly as Tony instantly shut his mouth and swallowed...he knew that was stupid...he knew getting up was stupid...but it was important... "Rhodey, go back to the cockpit, get us grounded," Bruce told, knowing they'd be arriving shortly. Rhodey was hesitant, but didn't argue as Pepper and Bruce would take care of Tony. He was calmed now, but stuck on his elbow taking steady breaths. There was a sudden look of determination in his eyes and Bruce took notice of that. "Tony...you're agitated," Bruce said, trying to reason with his friend, "What is it, tell me what you want."

"Pepper...I need to..tell her something," Tony finally got the words out of his mouth as he pulled the oxygen mask down. The quinjet started to dip slightly as they descended to Wakanda.

"Tell me what?" she asked, eagerly wanting him to lay back down.

"Help me sit up..please, it's important," he articulated. Pepper and Bruce exchanged a look, but they helped lean him up against the wall, where he winced a few times. Bruce laid more gauze against the wound.

"Tony?" Pepper said as Tony swallowed the blood in his throat several more times and took deep breaths to settle himself. He looked up into her eyes...goodness, she was so beautiful, and he was always reminded why he fell in love with her.

"I want us..to..get married." Pepper stared at him, speechless as he said those two words. "Right here, now," he murmured with heavy eyes.

Multiple feelings were washing up inside her, but then blandly she responded, "Are you crazy?" She looked at Bruce with a dumbfounded look, then back at Tony since Bruce was doing his best to stay out of the conversation by dipping his head or looking the other way. "You seriously have the nerve to ask me that right now? Right n-"

"Pepper," Tony cut her off with a sharp, emotional voice and the ocean of fear and pain and love in his eyes made her realize he was completely serious. "Pepper," he started with tears gathering in his eyes as he breathed heavily in pain. "..he ran me through with that sword and all I thought...was I was going to die on that planet alone...without being married to you." Her heart sank at the arduous yet beautiful words he said, and she suddenly felt like she'd been selfish moments ago. Even Bruce had turned his head towards Tony, with an insufferable sympathetic look; they meant to understand the trauma Tony endured out there, but it was inconceivable. "...I know...we planned a big wedding...we don't need that...we...I only need you..." Pepper balled her hand into a fist and pressed it against her mouth, trying to hold back her tears. She knew part of the reason he was asking this of her was that he thought he was going to die.

"Tony..." Pepper whispered, realizing that a part of Tony might have been left on that planet...just like he had in that cave. However, that cave had turned him into a better human being, but she didn't know what being out there did to him. If the wormhole had given him PTSD, then who knows how bad this'll be.

"..please..." Tony pleaded with drenching desperation, "...Pepper..please..."

"Prepare to land," Rhodey called back, as the quinjet's wheels could be heard lowering.

Seeing the stacking fear in Tony's ebbing eyes, she replied with tears, "Yes." She kissed him and afterward rested her forehead against his affectionately. Pepper felt Tony place his hand on her upper back, trying to keep her close to him. Wrapping her arms around him, she could feel his shallow, raspy breaths, and she started to cry as the quinjet halted.

Resting his head next to hers on her shoulder, he choked up emotionally, "..please don't cry...if you cry, then I'm going to cry...and everybody's gonna cry..." She actually laughed at that, through her tears, and so did he, but he quickly fell quiet with exhaustion.

The sound of the quinjet's ramp unfolding occurred, and after Pepper looked over her shoulder outside, she glanced at Bruce as Rhodey approached them, saying, "Bruce...can you, uh.."

"Yeah," he said quickly, getting up.

_"Hurry,"_ Pepper added, and Bruce went to stop the doctors from coming in for a few more minutes. "Rhodey, the rings, they're in the front compartment of my backpack." Rhodey had missed some of the conversation, but he heard enough to know what was going on. As Rhodey went to get their rings, Pepper continued to hold onto Tony. Briefly, he switched his head to her other shoulder, to hold the mask back up to his face with his free hand, trying to get more oxygen into his lungs. Within a few seconds, Rhodey was back, setting the rings on Tony's leg as he gave Pepper a damp paper towel.

"Here, why don't you wipe the blood off..." Rhodey delayed while putting pressure back on the stab wound since Bruce was absent.

Delicately, Pepper had Tony remove the mask, to which she wiped the blood off his chin. When she was done, he glanced down with a depressing glance. Tony placed a hand on his chest with a painful wheeze. "Tony?" Pepper was concerned, knowing he'd be coming down from his adrenaline rush. He didn't answer, he put the mask over his nose and mouth, breathing in the sweet oxygen he was becoming deficient of. As he did this, he put a hand on Pepper's shoulder, to which she put her hand on top of his. "Are you good? Are you sure you can do this?" She was so soft and gentle... and hearing it sent some emotions branching through his heart. Tony leaned back against the wall with a tired nod as Bruce returned, followed by Steve, Natasha, and Thor.

The bloodied, scarlet-stained sword was what their eyes first laid on, but their souls grew empty and bottomless when they saw Stark. He was...damaged. He was covered in bloodied cuts and bruises, and the amount of blood on his abdomen... It was so much worse then they had imagined, sympathy and hurt were crawling to Steve's eyes as Tony sat there, struggling for air and bleeding. Bruce had directly gone up to Tony, kneeling beside Pepper as Thor haltingly trailed behind the scientist. Thor seemed rather phased by the sight. The Asgardian had lost more than any of them, but then seeing another friend dying at the hands of Thanos...there was guilt in Thor's eyes...he should have gone for the head, like Thanos said...

Nonchalantly, Steve and Natasha rounded the edge of the table. The billionaire was very pale and looked exceedingly fatigued. Steve exchanged a glance with Natasha which held horror and fear. They were unsure how to approach, especially Steve, who felt unusual nervousness crowding through his core. Tony froze for a moment, spotting Steve as he stepped closer. There was a beeping sound as Tony's heart rate slowly rose, but Bruce quickly told Friday to mute the vitals monitor. "...ga.." Tony mumbled through the mask. An unreadable emotion was in his eyes, and Tony seemed to be roller-coasting through anger, denial, regret, fear, heartache, pain...closing his eyes, Tony looked away from Steve for a second, taking a deep breath. Steve could tell he was getting stressed, and suddenly Steve felt his feet backing up...he probably shouldn't be here. Natasha looked at Steve, not knowing what to do. There was some guilt holding steadfast to her as well, considering she'd known about Tony's parents as well, but to be honest, she wanted to stay. "...wai..." Tony groaned, "..wait..."

"If this is gonna happen, it's gotta happen fast," Rhodey informed to Steve, trying to get them to speed up the pace in case Tony unexpectedly fell unconscious or worse...

Natasha put a hand on Steve's back, pushing him forward...it was...an incredibly awkward moment as Steve sat down on the floor a few feet from Tony. Behind them, Rocket had deliberately followed onto the quinjet. He had seen the Milano land with the Terran aircraft, but he decided to follow Thor first; almost scared to speak to Nebula to find out what had happened, since he heard she was alone with the human on the Guardians' ship. Hearing the worrisome commotion from the humans, Rocket strolled around the table, with his eyes softening and ears falling against his head seeing the tragic wound the human had received.

"Tony..." Steve began, getting a closer look at Tony's egregious condition...he was...dying...Tony's eyes glanced down at the floor as he couldn't bear to keep eye-contact with Steve. Pepper and Rhodey both held him steady as he breathed in some shallow wheezes. His hand was still holding the mask to his face. "..I'm sorry for this..." Steve said softly with an honest heart, "And I'm sorry for keeping... that information from you," the super soldier continued as Tony finally looked at him, trying to keep what happened between them between them since Bruce and Thor didn't know about Tony's parents. "I hoped to spare you from the pain of that knowledge, but I was wrong, and it was selfish and stupid. I wish it had gone differently and if I could, I would change it in a heartbeat," Steve admitted while Tony grimaced and shut his eyes in pain.

"Tony..." Natasha repined gingerly.

While his eyes were still closed, he pulled a hand up to his chest before gesturing to Steve like he was trying to say something. He opened his eyes, and seeing and feeling the raw emotion in the room, Tony weakly held his free hand out towards Steve in truce. He still didn't know how he felt towards Steve, Tony had felt betrayed, but in the critical spot they were in currently...Tony wanted to forgive Steve and he meant to apologize as well, but the words were trapped in his throat by his breaths. Steve gently gripped Tony's hand, knowing Tony was meaning to say something, but couldn't. "It's okay," Steve said, seeing Tony getting upset and anxious, so he placed his other hand on top of their handshake to enclose his friend's hand. "I get it, it's okay," Steve tried to comfort.

"Great, okay, let's get this going," Bruce piped in, they were running low on time; Tony was hanging on by a thread, but his hands were slipping, and his head was falling under the water.

"Cap, you do the honors," Rhodey panted, grabbing more gauze as Steve and Tony's handshake broke apart.

"What?" Steve was taken aback...surely, Tony didn't want that.

"Just do it. Now," Tony was sounding agitated and as Rhodey put further pressure on both incisions, the man urged, _"Hurry."_ He couldn't hold on much longer, it had been hours. Excruciating, painful hours he held on, waiting and waiting...he'd had enough.

Growing scared, Steve tried remembering what the marriage vows were as Natasha pulled out the rings from the boxes, which sat on Tony's leg. She placed Tony's in Pepper's hand and Pepper's in Tony's. With their free hands, Pepper and Tony were holding them tightly together. Pepper wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffled while Tony swallowed again, trying to gather the strength to say what he needed to say. "Pepper, will have Tony, to be your husband. Will you love him, comfort and keep him, and forsaking all others, remain true to him, as long as you both shall live?"

"I will," she said with tears streaming down her face.

Steve could feel a lump rising in his throat, seeing a tear leaking down Tony's cheek. And when that happened, he could feel his friends' harrowing sorrow and angst spreading around the room like a wildfire. No matter how hard they tried dousing it with water, it wouldn't go out. "Tony, will you have Pepper, to be your wife. Will you love her, comfort and keep her, and forsaking all others, remain true to her, as long as you both shall live?" Steve repeated.

"I will," Tony vowed with surprising clarity.

Kindly, Pepper took Tony's dry bloodied hand and slipped the ring onto his finger. And he did the same with hers, although when he did he could feel his heart starting to race again in fear. He could see blackness weaving into his vision... Hastily, he kissed Pepper, not waiting for Steve to say the rest of the lines as he hugged her. "God, I love you," he muttered through scared breaths, feeling a few more tears running down his face.

"I love you too," Pepper said profoundly, holding onto him as he winced.

"Steve, go get the doctors," Bruce coerced crucially, "he can't wait any longer." Doing as told, Steve jumped to his feet and sauntered towards the quinjet's ramp. This made Natasha move closer to Tony, coming to kneel beside Rhodey as Bruce continued, "Tony, I need you to lean back, okay?" With Pepper's help, he leaned back against the wall with reducing groans and shut his eyes for a short moment.

"Tony, it's going to be okay," Tony's wife tried comforting one last time before she let go of Tony's hand. She went to stand by Thor, while Bruce took her place.

Tony attempted to keep calm, but now and then he could feel his heart pounding painfully in his chest. "Tony, calm down, you're going to be okay," Rhodey said gently, knowing his heart rate was elevating and dropping again in repeat, "Here." Rhodey pulled the mask up to Tony's airways, which he took in his trembling hand as he fluttered his eyes open. Gazing forward, Tony looked at Natasha, and she saw him; her eyes dwelling with empathy as she found remorse and fear in his eyes.

"You're going to make it," Natasha stated as the Wakandan doctors entered the jet with a hovering table.

Bruce, Rhodey, and Natasha backed off, joining Steve as the doctors surrounded Tony and got him back onto his back. _"Stark? Mr. Stark? Stay with us."_ The doctors spoke to him, trying to keep him awake while prepping to move him. Although, when the table was lowered, the four of them were beckoned over to help lift Tony onto it. Steve could still see Tony's eyes cracked open as they and the doctors gently grabbed hold of him, but when he was feet off the ground in their arms, his eyes rolled back, and he was gone. _"Mr. Stark? Can you hear us? Mr. Stark?"_ Still alive, yet unresponsive, the doctors rushed Tony off the quinjet, followed by Bruce, Rhodey, Pepper, Steve, Natasha, and Thor, leaving Rocket alone on the aircraft.

* * *

**to be continued...**


	4. When Dawn Comes

**ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT || REWRITE IS BEING POSTED AT DEAR MR FANTASY**

**warning** for possible intense, graphic descriptions

* * *

**Painful Reunion**

4 of ?

When Dawn Comes

* * *

**WAKANDA**

Exiting the Terran aircraft, Rocket watched the humans disappear from sight before gazing over at the Milano; his home. Before meeting his friends, Rocket couldn't remember having people that cared about him, gave him a second chance, or gave him somewhere to call home. The Guardians did that though, Quill did, and they treated him as an equal. Both of the crafts were landed in some type of infirmary center. In fact, Rocket was surprised the Milano could fit in the flight center of the building. He gazed at the beautiful ship for a moment, not seeing anyone leaving it, so bravely and grimly he slowly approached it...Something felt wrong, and he knew he was going to regret walking in there.

He found the ship dead and quiet. It sent a gruesome chill down his spine as he made his way to the main deck of the ship, where he found Nebula sitting in the cockpit. Rocket could feel painful dread brewing in his chest as he stood by the seat next to hers. "Nebula?" he murmured. There's was pain in her eyes, a mournful pain. Rocket hadn't interacted with Nebula much, but he knew of her cold nature...She didn't care much about anyone, but there was one person Rocket knew that she possibly cared for. _"...No, no..no..."_ he started, trying to deny the lump rising in his throat, "Where are they? Nebula?"

Nebula pulled a single knee up to her chest as tears pooled in her eyes. "He killed her..."

Rocket stared at her, dismay hazing his eyes. His throat was constricting with sadness, "Gamora...?" Backing up a couple of steps, he felt himself bump against the chair, attempting to catch his breath in shock and sorrow before daring to ask. "And the others?"

There was a pause as Nebula almost felt sorry for the raccoon; him mourning for her sister as well. She didn't know how to put the next words, so she just said them with an honest and empty voice, "They're gone."

Rocket felt winded, clutching his chest. His eyes grew wide and scared as his ears laid flat against his head. "It's not possible," Rocket choked with desperation in his voice, "Tell me it's not true." When Nebula remained quiet, Rocket growled, and his fur bristled, "You're lying!"

"Why would I lie?" Nebula snapped, lurching towards her side to gaze at him sharply. "They're all gone; they're _dead!_ Gamora's _dead!" _She shouted furiously at Rocket, and he fell quiet.

His chest tightened, and there was this feeling...this..he started drawing in heavy breaths as he wandered off a few feet through the ship. Staggering, he felt sorrow, pain, anger, and vengeance. In frustration, he yelled, kicking whatever was in front of him before collapsing into a heap on the floor with a sob.

He was alone.

* * *

The six of them had followed the surgeons all the way to the operating room as Tony's vitals fleetly dropped, but they were immediately stopped by other doctors from going into the operating room. Bruce nearly got into an argument with the Wakandan doctors, but Steve was able to pull him away, knowing they couldn't be in there while Tony was hastily prepped for surgery. They had no words to say; they paced and paced. Steve's eyes landed on Pepper as Natasha went over to comfort her with a hug. Her hands were still stained red, as did Bruce and Rhodey's. The blood was faint, but it still lingered on their skin and clothes.

Steve's thoughts were quickly cut off, hearing a surgeon walk out of the operating room and shout urgently in a language the soldier didn't know. Other doctors dashed over hurriedly, entering the OR behind the other surgeon...That surely didn't ease any of them. Doing the best he could, Steve tried to see what was going on, already having a deadly conclusion. There was an entry lobby to the OR though, in which to the left were the doors to the OR and to the right was some other room.

Glancing at Bruce, Steve could see his bewilderment and stress...he could only imagine what that flight was like for Pepper, Rhodey, and him. It was a horrendous, intense several hours, even for Steve, Natasha, and Thor as they waited. At any second, they were prepared for the call, telling them Tony didn't make it. In fact, the few times Rhodey had called them; it stopped their breaths, thinking he was bringing fatal news that their friend had died from his injuries. "Bruce," Steve said gently, walking up to the scientist as he tautly played with his hands. Bruce looked at him, and Steve could see he was still trying to process all that had happened...they all were.

One second it was just an average day, then they hear of New York being attacked and Tony Stark missing. The news of Thanos was soon brought to them, then they were gearing for war, and people died...they lost...and then Tony was found gravely injured and dying...there was so much blood. It all happened way too fast for them to swallow or to walk out with a clear head. When Steve stopped before Bruce, he ended up losing what he had to say and instead leaned against the wall beside him. "What if Tony doesn't make it..." Bruce eventually whispered between them, sounding lost and broken.

Steve dipped his head, having nothing to say. "You did what you could for him, Bruce," he replied, looking at Bruce as the doctor gazed at the floor. "Look at me," Steve uttered quietly and Bruce listened to the super soldier, "You kept him alive and that's everything. I don't think you realize how thankful we are for that."

"It wasn't me alone," Bruce shrugged, "Rhodey and Pepper...Tony is so lucky to have her." Steve gave a mere nod of agreement as they both looked in her direction, where she was still standing with Natasha, trying to calm down. "And Tony..he's the one who kept fighting," Bruce admitted, turning his attention back towards Steve, but his gaze didn't quite meet his eyes. The scientist took a deep sigh, looking across the hall at the wall while Steve lowered his head again.

"Were you told what happened to the Avengers?" Steve asked lowly.

"Rhodey filled me in on the Accords, the team got split up because of it, and then you went after Bucky. A lot of things got out of hand," Bruce answered, before looking at Steve, adding, "I'm sorry, by the way...what happened with Bucky."

It took Steve a moment to respond mournfully, "Thank you." Steve inhaled a rough breath and rubbed his head slightly. He still had a lasting headache from when Thanos punched him to the ground. The pain had withdrawn a bit from the Wakandan medicine, but it still pinned his head. "When I lost Bucky the first time..." The soldier was struggling to find the words, but ended up just adding words together, "...I just...finding out he was alive was shocking. Hydra was using him, and I had to try saving him from that torment." Sympathetically, Bruce wasn't sure what to say. There was something in Steve's eyes that made him wonder if Steve had more to say. After all, the soldier had brought the subject up. "I thought I could get my friend back, and I did by bringing him here, but...it cost me a friendship to do that," Steve was heavy with _remorse_.

"Tony, you mean?" Steve nodded as Bruce questioned, "Because of Rhodey?"

Steve immensely sighed, "Partially, but it ended up being something far worse than that..." A look of worry and confusion crossed Bruce's face, a little concerned of _how far over the line_ Steve was talking about. "Four years ago when Hydra took over SHIELD, Natasha and I found out Howard and Maria Stark's death was not an accident. Hydra was responsible...we didn't tell him."

"Oh, Steve..." A sliver of embittering caught in Bruce's voice.

"It gets worse.."

Bruce covered his face with his hands, "Oh, no, no..."

Running his hands along each side of his face towards his ears, Bruce heard Steve anxiously say, "During the Accords situation, we found out Hydra sent Bucky to kill them...Tony found out in a pretty brutal way."

"Oh, god..." The scientist was almost whimpering with a grimace, covering his face back up. "Steve, oh god."

"Yeah," Steve agreed, hearing the pity in Bruce's voice.

Steve exchanged a look with Bruce, and the soldier could see something emotionally torn in his eye. There was some disbelief and empathy for Tony, but Bruce was remaining mutual. "Oh, Steve," Bruce repeated, taking a few steps and running a hand through his hair. When Bruce looked back, he saw a lot of guilt in Steve's eyes. "I'm not going to lie, that was a dick move." Steve wasn't arguing. "I don't think I can help you fix that, that i-"

Their conversation was cut off as a female surgeon walked out of the OR, coming towards them. Mild alarm set off in them and they became silent, holding their breath as the six off them gathered closer to hear what the surgeon had to say. "There was a situation." Pepper immediately folded her arms, rubbing the side of her face with one hand, hoping to not hear certain news. "Tony is alive, but his lung collapsed while we were prepping him and his heart stopped." Both Pepper's hands symmetrically covered her nose and mouth as she took a deep breath. Natasha grabbed Pepper's arm tightly and put an arm around her in a half hug, trying to comfort her. She wasn't on the verge of crying, but she looked shocked and horrified as they all did. "Ma'am," the surgeon directed to Pepper, meaning to be sincere and comforting as she took a few steps forwards, "We got him back, he's alive." Steve gently pressed a hand on Pepper's shoulder, feeling tears coming to his eyes, knowing her pain. This was torture. "We're going to do everything we can to save him. But I want you to know he's fighting. He's fighting for you," the surgeon did her best to give them some hope in the bleak, heartbreaking moment. It was sweet, but it didn't exactly cover the poisoning thought that Tony had actually died on that table, and they were standing out in the hall while it happened.

"How long was he down?" Rhodey dared to asked. Usually, that was something Bruce would ask, but he looked like he got punched in the stomach and was winded. To be honest, that feeling was going around very quickly.

"About a minute, a minute and a half," the Wakandan surgeon revealed, looking at each of them with a sympathetic expression. "I need to get back in there," she said, turning back to Pepper. "If you want, you can sit in the gallery. Special barriers have been set up so you won't have to witness the surgery, but you'll be able to see your husband."

Pepper didn't waste a moment, taking her hands off her face and running one through her hair, inquiring with a sigh, "Can you show me?" The Wakandan nodded. Natasha still had a comforting hand on Pepper's back as the surgeon led them to the OR lobby, and as she did, the assassin exchanged an extremely scared look with Steve, Bruce, Rhodey, and Thor. They were led right, through another set of doors until they found a large room, furnished with some sofas and chairs. There was a small coffee, tea, and water station in the back of the room, but the main attraction were the enormous glass windows.

As quickly as the surgeon brought them in there, she was gone, returning to the OR where Tony laid on the operating table under several bluish sheets. The six of them stood there, side by side at the glass. The surgeon had been right about the barriers. All they could see was from the arc reactor and up to Tony's face, as the physical barrier stretched from the reactor past his feet. The surgeons were still visible, but only from their shoulders up. It was rather relieving, not having to watch them take their friend apart to put him back together. That would have been cruel.

"Oh, Tony…" Pepper whispered, resting her fingers against her lips. Tubes and wires were attached to Tony; ventilators, IVs, blood units, injections to keep him under, heart monitors, blood pressure readers...there were even wireless defibrillator pads laid on his chest, left there in case he went into cardiac arrest_ again_. Pepper wished she could be in there with Tony, but it made her feel a bit better seeing an anesthesiologist sitting beside him, carefully monitoring his vitals. The anesthesiologist had Tony's arm laid out near him, where the IVs were taped to his forearm. The OR looked closely similar to any other, except more upgraded, modern, and slightly futuristic. The Wakandan surgeons dealt with more wireless and holographic attributes, but still maintained physical and direct tools. Perhaps that was in case the power went out…the sudden horrid thought seared Pepper's mind, realizing all this equipment was keeping Tony alive while the surgeons tried to stabilize him. "What if the power goes out?" She ended up saying out loud.

Everyone's face seemed to freeze, processing the sudden unwanted idea. "It won't," Steve reassured, glancing at Pepper, who didn't acknowledge back.

"Besides, we've got a Thor," Natasha added dryly, with no intention of humor. She was serious.

After a moment of collecting his thoughts, Thor questioned, "Do you know where Stark was?"

"He mentioned being on a planet, but not which one," Rhodey replied, crossing his arms. His face held a grimace...he hated seeing Tony like this.

"That woman he was with might know," Bruce input, glancing at Thor while placing his hands in his pockets, "she followed us here in that other ship."

"Hopefully they're still here," Thor murmured not breaking his gaze off Tony, and after a pause, he continued, "…he was stabbed by Thanos?"

An eerie silence engulfed the gallery for a moment. "Yeah," Bruce finally answered with a grimace, confirming for a second time, "that's what Tony said."

"Who's Thanos?" Bruce saw Pepper look at Thor as she asked. Thor was looking tense, gripping his new hammer tightly.

"I should have killed him, he was right there in front of me," Thor was gruff with guilt, looking at Pepper, "I'm sorry."

"Thor, this is nobody's fault," Steve grounded sternly, knowing they were all up to their heads in guilt with the fact that they failed and people were dead because of that.

"There was no way we were ever prepared for something like this," Bruce said, supporting Steve on trying to lend ease to Thor, "and there was no way we could have helped Tony, he was out of our reach."

"I noticed the Infinity Stones appearing recently; I should have seen this coming," Thor countered lightly, not dropping the shameful look on his face.

"Thor…we couldn't have known this would happen," Natasha supplied softly, "stop blaming yourself."

"It's easier said than done," Thor commented defeatedly, and there was nothing anybody could say to comfort that. They all understood how that felt.

"Who's Thanos?" Pepper asked again more forcefully, but her voice remained delicate as Thor shifted his attention towards her with absolute hopelessness and sorrow clouding in his eyes.

"He, uh…" Thor dropped his gaze, taking a few rough breaths. All eyes had turned to him in concern, seeing how broken the Asgardian looked. They were told by Bruce of how Asgard got destroyed and their remaining fleet slaughtered by Thanos, but they never got the chance to speak with Thor about it…it was something inconceivable and unforgiving. Thor had lost more than all of them combined. "Excuse me, I'll be right back," he grumbled, before quickly leaving the room.

The rest of them watched him go, and when the Asgardian was gone, Bruce looked at Pepper who was standing on the other side of Steve. He opened his mouth, with the intentions of explaining to Pepper all that had happened.

* * *

Rocket hadn't moved from his spot on the floor. He was sitting cross-legged, elbows on his knees, and face buried in his paws. Nebula was still in one of the seats in the cockpit, resting her chin on her fist. Neither of them moved when Thor quietly walked onto the gloomy deck of the Milano. Briefly, he glanced around, but he understood what happened due to Rocket's behavior. With a mournful sigh, he reclined back in a chair, dropping Stormbreaker and laying a hand on his face. The three of them sat there, saying nothing.

"How do you do it?" Rocket broke the silence, almost with a whimper.

"Do what?" Thor asked, not moving his hand to see.

"Deal with this pain?" Rocket whined with despondency, pulling his paws away from his face and gawking at Thor, "How do I make it go away?"

"….It'll diminish, but it'll never go away," the King of Asgard murmured with emptiness, "It's just something we learn to live with."

Rocket's eyes widened horrified, but soon his teeth bared and out of anger, he spat, _"Those idiots got themselves killed!" _The raccoon began hyperventilating with furious hisses, before restraining his emotions and approaching Thor. "Thor, what do we do?" Thor didn't respond. "Thor?"

"I don't know!" Thor returned, pulling his hand down in agitation, to which Rocket backed off while they drowned in their pain, "I just need some time…I came to know where Stark was." Falling silent, Rocket sat back down, knowing how much anguish laid with everyone. "Blue one," Thor asked, looking towards Nebula. She gave him a death stare. "Where were you with Stark? Where were you with the human?"

"Titan," Nebula answered grimly after a moment, returning Thor's gaze.

"What's Titan?" Rocket questioned.

"Thanos' homeworld," Thor said, adding specifically for Nebula, "Was he engaged there?"

"Yes."

"Were Rocket's people with you?" Thor questioned further.

"No," she muttered, being rather vague in detail, "They and the human were together before I got there."

Dipping his head for a moment, Thor sighed. At least he had some answers, but it wasn't enough. He gave a quick nod to Nebula, "Thank you." Getting to his feet, he took his hammer and looked down at Rocket openly, "I'm sorry about your friends…what happened wasn't right or fair." Rocket hadn't looked at him, but what Thor said next peaked his attention to the Asgardian. "You should know you are not alone, no matter how alone you feel. You've got people here, and here we fight for each other." Thor paused, gesturing towards the door. "I have a friend dying in there, and apparently he was with your friends for a short while. He may have more information for you if he lives. If you need me, I'll be there." With a respectful nod to Rocket, Thor said no more and exited the ship.

* * *

When Thor returned to the gallery, he found the Avengers sitting spread out over the sofas and chairs; they had seemingly coaxed Pepper to sit as well, near Natasha and Steve while Bruce and Rhodey sat towards the back of the gallery. Some had hot drinks in their hands and on the tables, as they tiredly kept vigil of Tony.

Their heads turned to his direction as Thor entered and leaned his hammer against the wall. "Hey, you okay?" Natasha carefully asked, wishing there was something she could do for him.

Instead, Thor stopped in front of the glass, mildly shrugging off the question with a low grunt. "Is there any change?" Thor lightly mumbled.

"No," Natasha sighed.

There was a moment of silence before Thor told, "According to Rocket's friend, Stark ran into the same group of people who helped me." Attention drew back to Thor as he continued to explain what he found out. "They were on Thanos' deserted homeworld, Titan. They fought him there, but Stark and Rocket's friend were the only survivors...after the..." he finished quietly, while the others stared at Thor with mutual condolences. "That's all I know." With a depressed sigh, Thor staggered exhaustively for a second until he found a chair to sit in. He resided a few feet from Pepper, Natasha, and Steve.

No talk followed, the gallery remained hushed as the six of them painstakingly waited with stiff, sore, and battered bodies. They were still covered in sweat, dirt, and blood, but were in no hurry to clean up. Their bellies were still empty, and blankets laid over them while somebody would drink from their coffee or tea every once in a while. Despite how tired they were though, they kept lacking the urge to sleep, but now and then somebody would get up to walk around, wash their face in the bathroom, get their adrenaline rushing. It was during one of these times, not too long after Thor came back, he was pacing slightly on his feet and abruptly halted. "Why have they stopped?"

Whoever had briefly glanced away from the operating room, fleetly shifted their eyes from Thor to Tony in alarm. Pepper was on her feet in a heartbeat, realizing Thor was right. Something was wrong. "What the hell?" Bruce weighed in with concern, walking up to the glass quite puzzled. Tony wasn't going into cardiac arrest, but whatever was at fault made the surgeons, including the anesthesiologist, gaze at each other with debating looks of chagrin and vexation. Bruce quickly turned on a holographic monitor from the wall, where Tony's vitals became displayed.

Observing them carefully, Bruce didn't notice any change; his vitals were still dangerously low, but he wasn't crashing. "What is it?" Steve asked, anxiously pleading for an answer as he came to his feet beside Pepper. She was getting extremely anxious.

"I don't know," Bruce groaned, growing a bit panicked. He walked back up to the glass, eyeing his friend on the operating table. The anesthesiologist was cautiously glaring down at Tony's arm, while slowly increasing the anesthesia, but suddenly stopped looking a bit fearful. Bruce looked back at the monitor, hoping information about Tony's consciousness level was on it, but there wasn't. Then he saw it. _Armor_ was ever so slowly, appearing on Tony's arm. "What is that? Do you see that?" The scientist exchanged a glance with the others, awestruck.

"Shit…" Rhodey commented, approaching a few feet behind Bruce.

At that moment, the surgeons looked towards the gallery, and through the intercom, one asked, "He's got armor appearing on him. Why's that?" The surgeons looked quite dumbfounded, and that dumbfounded mirrored back to the group.

"What did Tony do with the suit?" Steve looked at Pepper urgently. "Pepper?" Steve and Natasha hadn't seen Tony in almost two years, while Bruce and Thor hadn't seen him in nearly three. Whatever modifications Tony made to the suit, they obtained no idea of it to help him with whatever was going on. It was a horrifying thought.

Pepper ruminated while fear rose on her face. "He..uh…he had an implant done," she contained in a tone that seemed like she was guessing. "Tony doesn't talk in detail about his projects around me until he's finished. You know he's a perfectionist," she glanced back at Steve, who was looking both scared and irritated….._Ugghhh_…Tony….

"For a couple months, Tony mentioned wanting to keep the suit stored with him at all times," Rhodey quipped, "but that's about all he said."

"Whatever it is, it's starting to counter the anesthesia and some of the other drugs," the anesthesiologist mentioned timidly, which almost made Bruce scream as he stated in fact, "He could wake up. We can't have that." Yes, that'd be _incredibly bad_.

And when Bruce thought it couldn't get any worse, it did. The surgeon they spoke to earlier, rapidly added in the best, calmed manner she could muster, "There's still debris we need to clear from the wound, he's still bleeding. If the armor starts closing around the area, we could have serious complications; it could put both him and these surgeons at risk." If panic hadn't reached an optimum, it was flaring on overload as hysteria swept the group.

"Damn it," Bruce hastily tried hiding his panic, thinking quickly as several eyes laid on him. Then he immediately landed his eyes on Pepper. "Pepper, can I see your phone?" Listening to him with angst, she pulled her phone from her back pocket and handed it to him. "Friday, you there?"

"Yes?" The AI quickly addressed; luckily Friday was still connected through Wi-Fi.

"Give us a diagnosis on Tony's suit. Keep it short and sweet, we don't have a lot of time," Bruce ordered, feeling his heart pounding in his chest.

"Mr. Stark designed the Bleeding Edge armor to compress into liquid and be stored in his body," the AI began speedily explaining with fear in her voice.

"Like in his bones?" Natasha asked with the most what-the-fuck, how-the-fuck-did-he-do-that tone.

"Correct," Friday responded, continuing, "It's hosted by the arc reactor, which has been connected to the sternum plating installed when boss's shrapnel was removed."

Luckily, while debating, most of Tony's body remained uncovered, but the skeletal structure of the suit started gradually creeping up along his side. They couldn't see how much it progressed on his abdomen because of the barrier, but it encased his arm enough that the anesthesiologist had to clamp the IVs and blood units and removed them before they got trapped. "Friday, can you shut it down?" Steve questioned, turning to Pepper's phone where the AI was speaking from.

The AI was silent which touched several nerves. "Err… uh, I can try," Friday said reluctantly, which sent a cold vibe through the room. "I am connected to the Bleeding Edge armor, but it's currently in a mode where Boss is in complete control, he made a mechanism that would counter against unwelcomed toxins or drugs for possible scenarios. I can access the arc reactor, but I can't shut it down without having permission to do so. Mr. Stark installed higher standards of technology to protect against possible hackings after the Ultron situation…..I don't think he expected a severe trauma like this anytime soon. But the armor is still in its early stages, so I'll do what I can." That didn't improve any of their hopes, they just exchanged wary, unsure glances.

"So, this is an unintentional subconscious response?" Rhodey suggested, moving from his spot and coming to stand by Bruce.

"It appears so," Friday confirmed.

"What if she can't shut it down?" Natasha input, preparing for the worse.

"Blood pressure's starting to drop," the surgeon noted nervously, which provoked the group's speed. The armor had stopped appearing, but what remained of it was making the surgeons uncomfortable. They were doing what they could, but the surgery had been halted for seven or eight minutes already. Pepper had turned back to stare through the glass, watching Tony with dread and shallow terror as he remained open on the table. He'd been on there for only thirty minutes, and she felt like they were getting nowhere. Like a dream where you kept running, but never reached the destination or got away from what was coming after you.

"Would upping the anesthesia work?" Bruce, Steve, and Natasha looked at Rhodey as he asked the question.

"It'd be better if we can avoid that," Bruce said, "Tony's body is already under a lot of stress, upping the anesthesia could risk complications."

"Friday, can you shut down the reactor? Can it be done safely?" Pepper asked. She had been listening intently, but her anxiety had flatlined with impatience. They needed to do something, or things were going to go wrong very soon.

"Shutting down the reactor won't cause Boss any harm, but there may be some adjusting to the sudden change," Friday replied.

"What kind of adjusting? Is he strong enough to handle it?" Bruce was apprehensive.

Friday didn't have time to respond, the surgeon yelled with unease, _"Come on!" _Their eyes drifted back to Tony fretfully as the frantic situation tensed.

"Friday, do it," Pepper demanded, growing afraid as Tony's vitals began to decrease, "just do it, shut it down."

In a frenzy, Friday said, "I'm trying."

"Then you're not trying hard enough," Pepper was harsh with fear, "Shut it down, now!"

Pepper was nearly screaming at the poor AI. Friday had been trying to shut down the arc reactor for about two minutes; two minutes they couldn't lose. Tony was still bleeding out on the table, and there was nothing they could do. Bruce's heart beat frantically, and he could feel the panic swallowing up the room as a single alarm sounded, alerting them of Tony's gradually decreasing vitals. Fear fully collapsed on all of them, including Natasha and Steve, as they watched and heard Pepper frenziedly urge Friday in a deep, terrified voice, "_Friday! _Shut it down! _Friday!_"

"...Almost there," Friday chipped distressingly, which made Pepper clasp her hand on Steve's arm. He was quite surprised at how firm her grip was, but he took it, hearing her voice cracking in a harrowing whine.

When Steve grabbed her hand, though, she pulled away and began pacing heavily. "Pepper..." Rhodey quickly went over to try comforting her, but she wasn't accepting it.

With heavy breaths, she paused near the corner of the room in front of the glass. "Bruce," she groused softly, almost in tears, "Bruce...is there something you can do?" Bruce looked at her with a scared, grim gaze. Not taking her eyes off Tony, she reached back with her hand for Bruce. The scientist tenderly grabbed her arm, attempting to lend her some comfort. "...do something..." Tears clouded his vision as Pepper emotionally and exhaustively begged, "Bruce, do something..please." There was nothing he could do though. Gently, Bruce held onto her as she tried restraining herself from crying and hoping to keep hopeful, but there was nothing hopeful about this. "He's going to die..." Pepper whispered with a frail whimper.

Rhodey came to stand on the opposite side of Pepper as Natasha glanced at her with fear and empathy. "_Got it._ Arc reactor is shutting down." Friday bellowed with slight relief, which almost paused the trepidation as the warm, blue light of the arc reactor shut off and went dark. It sent whatever armor was on Tony disappearing back into his skin. The moment it occurred though, Pepper clasped a hand to her mouth with a noise that was a mixture between a scream and gasp as Tony's vitals unexpectedly and catastrophically hit rock bottom.

The sound and sight was enough to lurch their souls with horror; it was enough that even _Natasha_ merely gasped, it was enough that Steve felt his air catch in his throat. Thor even tried exchanging a glance with Bruce, but Bruce's attention was on the billionaire. "No, no, no..." Steve was profound and quiet as he took an agonizing step forward; he couldn't help letting the words fall from his tongue. Several alarms went off, and the intercom was immediately cut as the surgeons speedily and fearfully worked to keep Tony from flatlining; the IVs where re-administered, and more blood units were being rushed in as the surgeons tried catching up on the time they lost.

The six of them stared, stuck with the feeling a reaper was in that OR. Rhodey had to remind himself to breathe, mustering weakly, "Come on, man, come on." Tony couldn't die like this...not like this...not his best friend...

A minute went by. Then three. The amount of stress could have burst the heart as the surgeons barely kept Tony from slipping through the cracks. Five minutes went by. Tony's vitals rose away from death slightly. It was only by a few numbers, but definitely, in the direction they wanted it to go. After seven minutes, the alarms were still going despite the surgeons' efforts. At ten minutes...cardiac arrest hit. It was sudden, quick, and jarring. There was no time to process it; within a second they heard the deadly tone of no heartbeat. "_No,_ oh god, _no,_" Pepper's voice was empty with despair as she broke from Bruce's hold and hurried to the glass. "Bring him back, bring him back," she was hush as her voice trembled. Her eyes flicked from the surgeons to Tony's _lifelessness_.

The surgeons pulled their hands away from Tony, while any other doctors in the OR froze as the defibrillator pads on his chest were wirelessly charged to 200. They couldn't hear the surgeons, but they knew they called clear. Tony's chest mildly jolted and fell still. Nothing. Bruce gazed at the monitor where Tony's vitals remained at zero. He could feel his chin and lip tightening as his emotions slipped through. "Don't do this," Bruce directed at Tony while coming to stand at Pepper's other side.

The defibrillators were charged to 300 as Thor took a few steady steps towards Steve and Natasha, who were watching with aching consternation. The surgeons gave Tony an adrenaline shot, along with some other serum injection. Cleared, and his chest jolted again. Nothing. "Tony, come on..._Tony,_" Pepper murmured with plea. The surgeons exchanged some glances. "Don't call it," she nearly ordered while on the brink of crying. Pepper knew the intercom had been cut though, but the head surgeon took one look at the gallery, and the defibrillators were charging to 360. Tony's chest jolted...it took a few seconds afterward, but the sound of a heartbeat washed over their ears.

"God..." Rhodey sighed in adamant relief, gazing at the floor while rubbing his head. He took a few steps backward.

Tears were streaming from Pepper's eyes as an eerie, dead silence hung in the gallery. Steve had gradually pivoted, running his hands over his face, trying to piece together the shattered part of his soul. It didn't last long though, merely seconds; his breath was still trapped in his lungs when he heard the monitor _flatline_. Bewildered and aghast, Steve whipped around, hearing his team's petrifying reactions to Tony falling into cardiac arrest _again_. It felt like a bullet had suddenly ripped through each one of them. Steve's words were caught in his throat as he fled closer to Rhodey, quietly yelping, "No, no...no.."

"Tony, oh Tony," Bruce austered frankly, "Oh god, _that's not good._" There was a sense of panic and _worthlessness_ storming through Steve's veins. How was he just standing here, watching this? There had to be something they could do; they were good at saving lives, that was their _job_. This feeling dwelled deep and Steve could barely handle the pain of it. That short moment on the jet...that couldn't be it. Steve didn't want that to be the last time he spoke with Tony. He _missed_ Tony.

The surgeons injected Tony with more drugs as the defibrillators were charged to 360. His chest lurched and went rigid. Nothing. _"Dammit,"_ Steve hissed under his breath. The lump in his throat was overwhelming, and he almost hit the edge as Natasha nervously gripped his arm. Steve glanced at her, but she didn't return a comforting gaze. She was _scared_, and so was he. They'd just gotten Tony back, and he was gone again, just like that, within _seconds_.

"Come on, man," Rhodey commented, staring at Tony. "Try again," he complied, knowing the surgeons were getting doubtful.

Natasha let go of Steve's arm as further drugs were being run through Tony. Defibrillators charged to 360. Tony's chest coldly lurched for a second time, but immediately there was a heartbeat. Briskly, the surgeons kept injecting Tony with fluids and serums, trying to desperately avoid cardiac arrest. They hardly got him back this time, if it happened again...that was game over. "Tony, come on..." the assassin added as an unsure, wary mood weaved. They were almost expecting for the billionaire to flatline again, but he didn't.

Having seen enough, Pepper let out a few hyperventilating sobs. She quickly backed up, pulling away from the safety her friends as she left the gallery. _"Pep-"_

"I've got her, I'll get her," Steve interrupted Rhodey, instinctively hurrying after Pepper. He followed her out into the hall, where she was breaking down. All he could do was hug her as she cried.

"He was _dead,_" she breathed.

"I know," Steve said, feeling his cheek becoming damp from a tear.

"Why did this happen?" Pepper wept, and it made the Captain cringe at her question.

"I...I don't know," Steve was trying to control himself, to remain strong for her, but he failed. He was as hurt and wrecked as she was. As they both grieved in the hallway, holding onto each other for comfort, Steve lifted his tearful eyes as Rocket aimlessly walked and halted a little ways from them. The raccoon held a mournful look, while behind them, Natasha had quietly joined them. She couldn't hold back her tears either. They had witnessed the grueling death and resuscitation of Tony Stark.

* * *

Eventually, Steve, Pepper, and Natasha returned to the gallery, followed by Rocket. They had been in the hallway for about fifteen minutes, trying to collect themselves from the intensity that was agonizingly endured. "There's a shallow, but steady heartbeat now," Rhodey mentioned to Pepper when he saw her. Thor and Bruce's attention fell on her as she sat down, gazing back through the glass at Tony. He was alive. That made Pepper take a deep breath.

"Friday," Pepper tried gaining her voice back as it cracked, "Why did..why did that happen? You said shutting down the reactor was safe."

"Shutting down the arc reactor is supposed to be safe," Friday did her best to explain thoroughly, "Normally, if it were shut down when Mr. Stark was healthy, it'd only cause minor, temporary changes to his vitals until he adjusted back to normal. The changes wouldn't even be noticeable, aside from a bit of fatigue or muscle aches. However, in his current condition, shutting down the arc reactor was a drastic shock to his system in the midst of everything else going on."

"I could've killed him," Pepper uttered, which made Bruce, Rhodey, Nat, and Steve frown hearing her say that. "Did you know that could've happened? That he'd go into cardiac arrest?"

"With my calculations, it was a possibility, bu-"

"You should've told me," Pepper cut the AI off, getting upset with guilt.

"Yes, but.." Friday was hesitant in how to respond. There was worry and sympathy in the AI's voice.

"Pepper, she tried too, but we were running out of time," Bruce reasoned gently, "I hate saying this, I don't like it any more than you do- _none of us do_...but, it was necessary shutting down the reactor. We risked the chance of losing Tony if we didn't."

"Pepper, this isn't on any of us," Natasha was sensitive, not wanting Pepper to be blaming herself for Tony flatlining _twice, _along with the first time when Tony was rushed into the OR.

While Bruce, Rhodey, Steve, and Natasha stayed near Pepper as she sulked, Rocket wandered over to Thor. The raccoon looked through the glass, seeing the human on this table and all this _stuff_. Wires and tubes going this way and that, out of the poor human. Rocket didn't know what they were doing to him; it looked like these other humans were experimenting on him. Rocket didn't know what to make of it, so he looked up at Thor and asked, "What are they doing to him?"

"They're trying to heal him," Thor answered, "this stuff is keeping him alive."

Rocket swallowed, gawking over his shoulder at the other five humans in the gallery. "He's not doing too well, is he?" He guessed, knowing how big of a mess they looked; tears, sweat, and the only thing clean seemed to be their hands, but aside from that, nobody had changed or washed up. Blood was still on them, whether it was alien, their own, or friends...the aftermath of the battle was still new.

"No," the Asgardian mumbled quietly, trying not to remind his friends of the trauma. "His heart stopped. They got it started again, though."

"Oh...I'm sorry," Rocket said, attempting to be empathetic, although his thoughts remained with his own dead friends. "What's his name?"

"Tony Stark."

* * *

The surgery proceeded for several more hours, acquiring much pacing and coffee drinking. There were plenty more scares and close calls as Tony's vitals teetered, but Tony never went into cardiac arrest again. A certain serum was continuously given to the billionaire, and the group could only guess it was some type of Wakandan medicine. Whatever it was, it was keeping Tony's heart beating, no matter how rock bottom he hit over the next hours.

The head surgeon noted when they repaired the severed blood vessels from the renal artery. Luckily, that controlled the majority of the bleeding as they fix his kidney and stomach. It came to a point, after four hours, they needed to shift Tony onto his side to reach the lung. When they did, another two hours passed as his lungs, ribs, and backside from the exit wound were dealt with in the best manner possible. About thirty minutes from finishing, the gallery windows were clouded out, and they waited and waited... until the head surgeon finally entered the gallery.

By this time, everyone was seated but rose to greet her and hear what she had to say, all except for Rocket. "You're all well aware of what happened in there," she began, which made many of them drop their gaze, still having the scene fresh in their mind, seeing Tony laying on the table without a pulse. "Tony's not out of the woods; there was a lot of damage and a lot of blood loss, but he's stable. He's being taken to the ICU, where we'll keep a close eye on him and make sure he'll get through the next twenty-four hours." The level of stress released from those words...not much relief settled in, but it was enough. Heavy sighs spread around the room.

"Thank you," Pepper sniffed, and the surgeon gave a complying nod, "thank you. Can I see him?" Pepper asked weakly.

"Of course," she replied, "but I'd encourage all of you to get some rest, get some food, and get yourselves cleaned up. You all look exhausted."

"Thank you, for saving his life," Steve said gratefully, "What's your name?"

"Ada."

The thanking quickly went from one person to the next, before the group discussed their next move. "I'm going to go be with Tony," Pepper told them keenly.

Steve thought about persuading her to get some rest, but she was standing strong on what she wanted to do, so he didn't argue. This was her husband, after all. "Do you want one of us to go with you?" he quipped.

"I'll go with Pepper," Bruce jumped in, knowing it'd eat at him if he didn't. He wanted to be at Tony's side in case something happened during the first couple hours after surgery. "Why don't you guys get some rest, we can take shifts with Tony," the scientist suggested, seeing his friends' hesitance and worry for Tony. They seemed eager to make sure the billionaire was remaining stable.

"Yeah, that sounds good," Natasha agreed, exchanging agreeable glances with the others.

"Do you know when he'll wake up?" Rhodey questioned to Ada.

Ada fell quiet, and her reaction to the question almost killed the hopeful vibe they were finally grasping onto. "I..It's hard to say, Tony's in pretty bad shape," Ada murmured brazenly, "At this point, it's best to give him some time..." Neither of them liked the sound of that, but at least Tony was out of immediate danger. That was everything at the moment, even if Tony had a long way to go. "Ma'am, why don't I take you to see him?" Pepper gave a nod.

"We'll see you guys later," Bruce gave Steve, Natasha, Rhodey, Thor, and Rocket a brief, temporary good-bye. They returned mere nods as Ada led Pepper and Bruce out of the gallery. After exchanging a glance with Steve, and releasing a thick, fatigued sigh, Natasha headed out into the hallway with the others following her. They were met by a few Wakandans, who led the five of them to a hotel next to the hospital.

When Natasha entered her room, she leisurely walked up to the window, where she saw the sun rising...they'd been up all night. The warm hues of orange and yellow touched the beautiful land and glistening city, reflecting stunningly off the glass windows of skyscrapers. At least this view helped numb what she had suffered to see that night, although it still branded her mind. Tony and the team may have had disagreements and made mistakes, but she never wanted something like this to happen. What Tony went through and was going through...it made her sick to her stomach, but she didn't care to let the others know that.

Her eyes were dry and heavy from tears, leaving Natasha to rub at them irritably. Not exactly knowing how she did it, somehow Natasha had coordinated her sore body to the shower. Standing there under the warm water, Natasha wasn't in a rush to get out. The water felt good and soothing, and she was clean. When she was dressed, the assassin walked out into the main room, where she found Steve sitting at the table. "What are you doing here?" She almost slurred, she was too tired to care how he got into her room.

"Thought you might be hungry," Steve mumbled in a depressing, defeated mood as he gestured with a finger to the food on the table. The smell was very pleasant, and it coaxed Natasha to sit down at the table with Steve. He had showered as well, but looked restless.

"Thank you for bringing this," Natasha said, plating herself some of the African food from the take-out containers. Steve didn't respond, his head was hung, and the two of them sat in silence for several harrowing minutes while Natasha took a few bites. The tranquil dawn drew Steve to look out the window, and Natasha paused, looking at him as he whispered, "Nat..." She placed the fork down, seeing the pain and sadness glazing his eyes as they did her own. It had been a long, hard, painful...almost forty-five hours since New York was attacked. "I was _scared_." Steve's eyes gleamed.

"So was I_,_" Natasha admitted humbly, knowing he was talking about Tony, "I thought he was gone when he coded." Burying his head in his hands, Steve sat, letting himself absorb all the emotions he'd been fighting. He and Natasha remained there as the moments went by until Natasha's phone suddenly rang. It caught both their attention, and Natasha quickly retrieved the phone, but when she answered, she was swiftly interrupted.

_"Nat?"_ Clint's voice flooded the phone in bewilderment and panic.

Natasha's eyes widened as she sharply gazed at Steve. "Clint?"

* * *

**to be continued...**


	5. The Moral and The Good

**ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT || REWRITE IS BEING POSTED AT DEAR MR FANTASY**

**warning **for possibly intense, graphic descriptions

* * *

**A Painful Reunion**

5 of ?

The Moral and The Good

* * *

**IOWA**

Darkness poised in the jet as the archer sat in the corner on the floor. His knees bent out in front of him as he buried his face in his palms. With precarious breaths, Clint tried controlling the panic that had tightened in his chest. Screams rippled through his ears, and he shut his eyes, trying to throw the memories in a locked box. He was good at that; he was good at shoving emotional shit down where it'd almost ceased to exist. It wasn't working this time.

He'd been in town with his daughter, Lila...his little girl. They were at the store checking out, when she pointed at the TV, mentioning something about Ironman. Clint glanced at the television, staring at the footage of New York getting attacked and reading _Tony Stark Missing. _Immediately, he took his daughter home. The Avenger was unsure of what to do and what was going on, so he tried calling Natasha. There was no answer, for all he knew she could be halfway around the world. At some point, after keeping his family calm and reassuring them, he got a hold of Maria Hill. They were as shocked and unaware of what was going on as he was.

It came down to Clint having to make a choice: stay with his family or find the Avengers. He didn't know where they were though, and Stark was missing, so who was left at the Avenger's Facility? Maybe Rhodey, but...this could be serious. An Avenger was missing, and for all Clint knew, Stark could have been killed. The last time he'd seen the Golden Avenger, it didn't end on a good note. Clint ended up in the Raft, while Tony was on the other side of the bars. That hurt...Tony said he didn't know they'd be thrown in there like animals, but it still hurt. Except, despite how upset Clint was at Tony, it also hurt hearing he was missing. While the Avengers were still together before the Accords happened, the team had a strong bond, a deep friendship that started after New York was attacked the first time. They were a family, aside from Clint's immediate family. There were even several times when Tony invited the Bartons to visit the facility. The kids loved it.

Taking it to heart, Clint decided to get on the SHIELD jet stored and hidden away on the farm and head out to New York from Iowa. He was about an hour from the facility, on the phone with Laura when he heard his kids screaming with fear, and soon his wife was freaking out...then came dead silence. Alarmed with horror, he turned the jet around. When he reached his home, he frantically searched, looking for any traces that maybe people took his family, but all he found was _dust. _The TV was on, stating that millions of people were vanishing, and those millions were turning to billions.

Clint sat alone in the jet with tears falling down his cheeks. Nobody at SHIELD picked up, not Maria Hill, or Nick Fury, or anyone. The time was reaching well into midnight, and Clint couldn't remember a time when he felt so lost. He was the world's best archer; he was an Avenger, retired, but still an Avenger. How did he become stuck with nobody? The world was growing quiet and empty. Clint had checked on his neighbors and other people in town earlier, but only a few remained. Dust littered the Earth.

After a half hour from his last call, Clint pulled out his cell phone, punching in the private number that was supposed to be Natasha's. "Come on, come on, pick up," he choked, terrified that his best friend was gone as well.

The phone dialed, and finally, he heard the line open. "Nat?" he asked with a silent prayer.

_"Clint?"_

"Oh god," Clint sighed in relief, hearing her voice, "you're alive."

She seemed to be abated to hearing him answer as well, _"Clint, where are you?"_

"They're gone, Nat..." he cracked, feeling the pit in his heart, "They just...vanished."

Silence built up on the other end, enough that Clint thought he'd lost Nat, but then she gingerly treaded with emotion, _"Your family?" _Natasha heard him trying to hold back his sobs. _"...Clint..."_ She fell speechless, having loved Laura and their kids.

"What the hell is going on?" The archer struggled to maintain a calm voice, but the bewilderment and panic had crossed the line. "I tried getting a hold of Fury and Hill...they aren't answering, _nobody_ is answering." Clint was getting frustrated, and he winced.

_"What's wrong, are you hurt?"_ Natasha asked with great worry.

"It's just a few cuts," he explained. There were a few shards of glass in his arm, but he hadn't noticed, or rather, ignored the blood coating his forearm. "Who else is with you? How many did we...are any of us gone?" Clint quipped, not wanting her to worry about him. There were more significant problems than a few cuts.

_"We have Steve, Bruce, Rh-"_

"Bruce?"

_"Yes, we've got him back. He and Thor are here,"_ Natasha confirmed.

"That's good to hear," Clint admitted, although it didn't heal his mourning. "Who else?"

_"Rhodey, Pepper..."_ the assassin trailed off, trying to hide some of the tragedy in her voice, _"..Stark is here also..."_

"Stark?" Clint panted, starting to settle his breathing, "he was missing though."

_"Taken, from Earth," _Natasha concurred, before adding gravely,_ "he's not doing too well, but he's here with us." _Rubbing at his face, Clint tried preparing himself for the list of names they lost, as Nat started with a sigh,_ "Clint..."_

He took a deep breath and swallowed, trying to rid of the lump in his throat. "Who'd we lose?" Clint dared to pry.

_"...Wanda..."_ The archer shut his eyes, leaning his head back against the wall. She was just a kid. _"Sam...Vision...Bucky..."_ Natasha paused. _"We lost a lot of Wakandans too, and T'Challa."_

"Wakanda?" Clint questioned, "Is that where you are?

_"Yeah, we're all here,"_ the assassin supplied, _"I'll give you the coordinates, and you can meet us here."_

"Yeah." Gathering himself, Clint nodded and pushed to his feet. Staggering slightly, he walked to the cockpit. "I just...I need to get out of here," he groaned in agony.

_"I know,"_ she tried comforting, but he could hear her sorrow, _"...I'm so sorry, Clint..."_ It made his lip tremble thinking about his family, _"Just get here fast, okay? It's gonna be okay."_

* * *

**WAKANDA**

A soft knock was heard on the door. Natasha was deep in a half sleep, but she roused groggily when the knock occurred again. As she walked around the bed, she gawked over at Steve who had slept on the couch. The Captain hadn't moved much, but his eyes were open as he watched her go to the door. She opened it to find Shuri, which immediately changed her persona. "Shuri," she said respectfully. The young princess, who was acting as queen now, had her hair in long braids going down her back; they complimented her wardrobe. Hearing Shuri's name, Steve rose to his feet and came to listen to the young woman. "How are you?" Natasha asked, empathetic. She had lost her immediate family as well.

Shuri was trying to look optimistic, but Natasha and Steve could see the pain of mourning in her eyes. "It hasn't been easy, but I must stay strong for Wakanda," she replied.

Steve gave her a respectful nod, pressing "Can we be of any help? What do you need?"

"I actually came to speak with you about your jet in the hospital's flight strip."

Natasha blinked with slight embarrassment, "Yes, of course, we'll take care of that."

"We're terribly sorry, we didn't realize it'd been left there," Steve input, also feeling apologetic.

"Don't worry, it was a simple mistake," Shuri reassured with her hands folded together in front of her.

"Thank you for letting us know," Steve acknowledged, "Is there anything else we could help with? Clean up or making sure the barriers aren't broken through?"

"If you want, but you are our guests," Shuri gratefully stated, "Feel free to rest and be at your friends' side. I heard Stark's in critical care." The assassin tried to hide her frown, thinking of Tony. Neither of them had heard any news since the surgery ended. "We're all set on patrolling the barrier," the Wakandan queen mentioned, "But Thor and your cute friend went out to the fields to help with the alien bodies. If you find you need to give yourself something to do, we'd be more than happy to accept your help in the fields." Not knowing what to say next, Natasha dipped her head, sighed, and exchanged a glance with Steve.

"Thank you, Shuri." The Wakandan gave a mutual nod to Natasha.

She began to parade off, but before they shut the door, she turned around, saying, "Oh, one last thing." That stopped Natasha from closing the door, and she took a step out into the hallway so Steve could listen also. "Maybe you should speak with Nebula. I went onto her ship and spoke to her briefly. I invited her to have something to eat and have some company, but she declined," Shuri finished.

"We'll take care of it," Natasha nodded, which sent Shuri walking away. She didn't know who Nebula was, but she had an idea of knowing the massive blue and orange spaceship. Returning to her room to get ready, Steve left his room to get his uniform back on. Looking at the clock, Natasha found it had only been about five and a half hours; the surgery ended around seven o'clock a.m., it was twelve-thirty p.m. It wasn't much rest, but at least it was something. The Avengers had already been restless with grief and worry, even more so when Clint had called her. That sent a shock through her and Steve...his entire family, _gone_. Clint was still several hours away; there was nothing Natasha could do in the meantime, so a few hours of sleep was enough at this point.

She felt a bit better...but suddenly a mixture of Tony and Clint was on her mind, amidst the depth of their losses and the chaos the world was blending to. She wondered how Bruce and Pepper were doing. Had they been with Tony all this time? Was Tony doing okay? How was the state of the world? How far was Clint from Wakanda? How was the mental state of her surviving friends? Worry crossed her face and she quickly met Steve out in the hall, where they proceeded to knock on the door of Rhodey's room. The colonel opened the door, cleaned as they were. Rhodey still looked tired though, but seeing Natasha and Steve, he grew alert. "Did something happen?" he asked, hoping they weren't going to spill more bad news. The amount of angst that had happened...he was not ready for more.

"No, we haven't heard anything about Tony," Steve murmured, although the thought of Tony came apparent to the super soldier. "Shuri asked us if we could move the quinjet, it's still in the hospital's landing."

"Shit," Rhodey muttered under his breath, realizing they'd forgotten about it. "It's been there for..."

"Since last night," Natasha answered, "Yeah, it slipped our minds too. We were pretty occupied with..." She didn't need to finish, they understood.

Rhodey leaned an elbow against the door frame, closing his eyes and rubbing his head. "Damn it; we gotta clean it up too..the blood," he groaned, not wanting to clean up his best friend's blood. Natasha and Steve glanced at each other. Rhodey was right; they didn't think about that. "What are we supposed to do with the sword? And we're supposed to be on shifts, right?" He looked to be getting overwhelmed.

Maybe they shouldn't have disturbed Rhodey. "Hey, it's okay, we're going to figure this out," Natasha comforted, seeing Rhodey still moping and processing what happened that night, not that it hadn't drained away from everyone else. "Why don't we go check on Tony first?"

The suggestion was favored, and when Rhodey was ready, the three of them found their way out of the hotel. Stepping out into the sun was refreshing, it gave a brief feeling of peace as the warm African breeze swept across the seas, over the land, and through the city. Within a heartbeat, it was gone though, as reality settled back in. The hotel was connected to the hospital on the inside, but that sliver of fresh air was desperately needed. When they entered the hospital, they made their way to a private section in the ICU, where they languidly approached the dimmed lighted room.

Carefully, Natasha walked in, staring at Tony with commiseration glinting in her eyes. She could almost feel her heart being ripped from her chest as her eyes laid on her friend. If there hadn't been the low beeping of the heart monitor, she would have thought him dead. It was made aware of how much blood Tony lost, but he was very pale; a ghostly color, while a few crimson cuts and bruises lined his face. There were a surprising amount of bruises along his arms as well, which caught Natasha off guard; she hadn't noticed them before. The downed Avenger was still hooked to a ventilator, unconscious and unable to breathe on his own. An IV and blood transfusion were running through him while a chest tube removed fluid and blood from his chest. Tony's vitals were still considerably and at a concerning low; they were just above the borderline of stable/unstable, but never fell into the red zone. They were only six hours in the first twenty-four hours, though. There was still room for possible complications, but Natasha didn't want to pry on those thoughts.

Glancing over her shoulder at Steve and Rhodey, she could tell the same thoughts were swimming in their heads as they saw Tony's condition. Rhodey took a few steps towards the bed, while Steve remained in the doorframe. He looked disturbed and irritated, but Natasha knew the irritation was at himself while his teammate laid injured on that bed. Pepper was sitting on the other side of the bed, resting her head on the sheets near Tony's hand. From what Natasha collected, she was asleep.

"Hey." Natasha, Rhodey, and Steve turned their heads towards Bruce, who was sitting in an armchair on the opposite side of the room. He looked groggy and dazed like he awakened from sleep.

"Hey," Natasha greeted Bruce warmly.

"There's been no change?" Rhodey asked as he observed the equipment.

Bruce glowered with exhaustion and sighed, "No...but.." The tone of Bruce's voice made the three of them freeze, knowing whatever news he had to say wasn't good. Getting to his feet, Bruce approached them and as he did, attentively motioned with a finger for them to gather around. "There's a lot of mild to severe bruising all over his body," Bruce whispered, walking over to Tony's side, although staying clear of the chest tube. Rhodey, Steve, and Natasha were listening glumly as Bruce continued, "Here." Bruce gestured to Tony's arms, where some areas where brownish-yellow. Then pulling back some of the gown covering his shoulder, they saw what Bruce was talking about; more extensive, deeper bruises where along his shoulder and on his chest. Bruce stopped pulling the gown back at the bandages on the wound. A few spots of scarlet had seeped through, but it didn't phase them; it was normal for that to occur until the wound healed more.

The scientist laid the gown back over Tony, not wanting to disrespect his personal space, but the bruises were something that needed to be addressed. "They don't stop there; they're all over. Some are barely anything, but some are pretty bad, including some on his chest and abdomen. I don't know what they're from, but he definitely got caught in a rough fight..." Natasha could tell Bruce was distressed over Tony's health, and it didn't improve their mood either. "I just...seeing all this damage; it's going to be a rough recovery," Bruce told quietly, not wanting to disturb Pepper.

"Is he comatose?" Rhodey pinned while folding his arms, realizing Bruce was dancing around something. The question alarmed Steve and Natasha.

"Possibly," Bruce mumbled heavily, wishing he didn't have to say that, "We're still debating." There was a stiffening pause, but there was nothing to say against that. Bruce didn't mean to sound strict, but he needed to get his point across for Tony's sake, "I know that despite whatever happened between you guys, you still care for Tony," he morose, aiming his words towards Steve and Natasha (well aware of Rhodey and Tony's close friendship). "We've all been through the mill, we're all grieving, but I want you to know, and I know you know that Tony's gonna need all the help and support he can get when he's awake. We know how he can be." As he spoke, Steve and Natasha broke their gaze for a moment, but not because it burned them hearing the efforts needed from them; they hated the Accords, and no matter what happened, Tony was still a part of them. Their gaze broke, acknowledging and understanding the grave situation he was in.

"Do you know how long the coma could last?" Steve inquired as Bruce walked back to the armchair to get his jacket.

"Comas after severe traumas aren't uncommon, and luckily, they don't last too long. Maybe a couple days to a week, but I can't be sure," Bruce said, before yawning sluggishly. "But his body's doing what it needs to do to recover, and to be honest, that's not entirely a bad thing at the moment...just as long as it doesn't last long."

"Have you been awake this whole time since the surgery?" Steve questioned, growing a bit worried for Bruce. The scientist didn't answer, instead he moaned in response.

"Why don't you guys take a break?" Natasha suggested strongly, rather wanting to avoid any hospitalizations of exhaustion.

Bruce didn't argue, but he gestured to Pepper, talking quietly, "Doesn't want to leave his side."

A disquietude look hindered on the assassin's face as she strode beside Pepper, putting a thoughtful hand on her shoulder. "Pepper," Natasha murmured softly, as Bruce stopped a few feet from the foot of the hospital bed. He gazed sullenly at Tony, the billionaire's eyes remaining closed while Natasha woke Pepper. "Pepper," she said again, which made Pepper slowly stir and look up at Nat. She had to have been in a deep sleep; she looked very out of it; maybe even a bit sick. "Go get some rest; we'll stay with Tony." With an unsure expression, Pepper looked at Tony; her hesitance to leave him could have been seen from a mile away.

"Pepper, you can't be here for him if you're exhausted yourself," Rhodey arrested, hoping she'd understand his point. They were already several friends down, Rhodey didn't want to see her deteriorate either.

When Pepper didn't break her gaze on Tony, Steve gently progressed into the room from the door frame. "Pepper, I promise we'll look after him. We'll let you know if anything happens," Steve alluded. Not saying anything, Pepper suddenly stared down at her hands, and with a sigh, she staggered to her feet. When she did, it was fleetly realized there was still some faint blood on her clothes. Natasha quickly helped steady her before Rhodey came around beside Pepper; placing a hand on her arm and guiding her to leave the room with Bruce.

After Pepper and Bruce walked out, Rhodey paused just before the door. "I'm going to stay with Pepper and be sure she's okay," Rhodey stated to Natasha and Steve. "Can you make sure the quinjet gets taken care of?"

"Of course," Steve reassured, which sent Rhodey off down the hall.

"What'd you get yourself into?" The Captain glanced at Natasha as she stood over Tony, speaking to him in a very kind, worrisome manner.

Tony was still and unresponsive, though. Taking a long, deep breath, Steve approached Tony's arm, where the IVs were taped to; his heart and vitals were monitored wirelessly. As he looked down at the billionaire, Nat gave Steve a grisly look before she found her way to the armchair Bruce was in and sat down. Steve stood there for several minutes, examining Tony and the makeshift rise and fall of his chest that was done by a machine. "I never wanted this," the super soldier whispered, unsure if Tony could hear him or not.

* * *

Both Rhodey and Bruce felt uncomfortable leaving Pepper alone. When they entered the hotel room, Bruce immediately laid on one of the beds and fell asleep. Rhodey had made his way to the couch and laid down to shut his eyes for a few minutes. He was surprised at how spacious and beautiful the rooms were. They looked more like a smaller version of a penthouse.

Meanwhile, Pepper had showered. She was in there for a _long_ time, which made Rhodey start to worry, but eventually, the water turned off. More time had passed until Pepper finally came out of the bathroom dressed and walked to the other bed in the room. Rhodey could tell from her reddened, glassy eyes she'd been crying again as she crawled into the bed.

It made his heart sink. He wished there was something he could do for her; both his and her best friend...her _husband_ was in the ICU unconscious. After she crawled into the bed and laid on her side, several moments paced by before Rhodey saw one tear after the next down Pepper's face. She was staying quiet about her grief, but Rhodey saw it. He sighed with empathy. He didn't know what to say, so he found a tissue box and took it to her. Pepper pulled one out as Rhodey sat on the edge of her bed. When he gradually looked over his shoulder at Bruce's back in the other bed, he saw the scientist gaze over his shoulder to see what was going on.

Knowing Rhodey had it taken care of, Bruce laid his head back down. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" He asked Pepper. She shook her head no, and when she did, Rhodey returned to the couch and shortly fell asleep as she did.

* * *

"Yeah, who's laughing now?" Rocket spat, kicking one of the dead alien mutts in the face. This one had been burned by the barrier, leaving it with charred, rotting flesh. "Ya stupid sack of shit!" He bellowed drunkenly while holding a bottle of alcohol. As he did, Thor had grabbed another alien body with one hand, dragging it over to one of the hundreds of piles of dead bodies that littered Wakanda. Many Wakandans were out helping too; the plan was to pile them all up and burn them, but the spikes remained outside the dome. They'd take care of those later.

"Were you going to help at all?" Thor asked with slight amusement. Rocket had joined him out in the field, but the Asgardian was doing all that work. He was completely fine with that though, considering Rocket's small size, but Rocket came out saying he'd "help" him.

"I am helping you, I'm making sure they're all dead," the raccoon retorted, sounding insulted as he walked over to the next body and stabbed the mutt through the eye with a dagger.

With a not-knowing-what-to-do feature, Thor wondered, "Should you be drinking that much?" He didn't want to pick at Rocket, but he knew alcohol and mourning never mixed well.

"Should I be drinking what much?" Rocket snorted, walking over to a rock and sitting on it. "The question is, should you be drinking what much?" The question backfired without Rocket realizing it, but he was far too drunk to care.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Thor responded blandly, collecting another body and tossing it on the pile, "I haven't had one drop."

"Yeah, _sure_ you have..." Rocket trailed off with a growl, realizing Thor was being honest. "Eh, what's so great about being morally righteous if it gets everyone you love killed?"

"Because then there'd be more people like Thanos," Thor returned gruffly, "and the universe would truly fall to ruin and chaos without the moral and the good."

With an irritated grunt, Rocket rolled his eyes, "Damn pirate-angels." Thor ignored Rocket's huffing and gruffing. He had met several people with Rocket's personality, but Thor knew he'd push through eventually; he just needed a friend and some help.

"Why don't you at least water the ground around the body pile and you can do the honors of setting it on fire?" The Asgardian offered, knowing the raccoon had an unusual fascination with weapons and explosions and destruction.

Rocket gave it some thought, but finally set down the alcohol. Walking over to the big water container delivered by the Wakandan aircrafts, he took a bucket and filled it with the water; pouring it on the grass on the perimeter of the pile. When Thor gathered the last of the bodies in that section, he came to help Rocket. It took a bit of time, but then the water had been poured, and both of them stood back as Rocket pulled out a lighter and threw it onto the bodies. They watched as flames roared up. As they did, their attention suddenly struck to the sky as a lonely jet emerged through the barrier. "Uh, is that supposed to happen?" Rocket asked.

Observing more closely, Thor recognized the SHIELD symbol on the side of the jet. "They're a friendly," Thor mentioned.

* * *

Silence echoed in the ICU, aside from the beeping of the heart monitor. An hour almost passed of Steve and Natasha watching over Tony. They'd ordered some breakfast, still feeling quite famished. While they ate, they discussed their losses. Steve missed Bucky and Sam. He missed Wanda…she was a good kid. He missed Vision. There was talk of holding a memorial ceremony for them, along with those of Wakanda who'd fallen. Eventually, when the food was gone, Natasha sat quietly in thought, while Steve decided to take care of the quinjet.

"I'll be back soon," Steve said, looking from Natasha to Tony before leaving them behind.

It made Steve pause with a grimace, seeing the dried blood and bloodied gauze that coated the floor of the quinjet. He had to force himself to look away as the horrifying memory of Tony bleeding out still lingered. Passing by the sword, Steve continued to the cockpit, where he started up the jet; lifting it from the landing strip and piloting the jet after a Wakandan aircraft, towards the area they were authorized to park. Rocket's ship wasn't hard to miss, being almost three times the size of the quinjet (at least) and with colors of blue and orange. Steve wasn't a huge fan of vehicles, but it was impressive from the outside and looked like something Stark would like to check out.

When he brought the quinjet to the ground, he opened the ramp to get some fresh air while he went to work on cleaning up the blood. Finding some gloves, Steve picked up the oxygen mask, washed it, and placed it in a sterilizing compartment. He then grabbed a small plastic bag-sized garbage bag and threw the stained gauze in it. Once he set it aside, he found some white cloths. When he dampened them, he started wiping up the blood from the area where Tony was.

"Hey, Friday?" Steve asked, hoping she was there.

"Yes, Captain Rogers?" The AI responded kindly.

"Will you let me know if I miss any blood spots?" The super soldier knew there were probably some areas that had blood stains without him knowing. There were some droplets by the ramp and leading to where Steve was, but bloody hands and clothes became carriers no matter how hard somebody tried.

"Of course," Friday replied, turning on the quinjet's blacklights, which easily highlighted the blood spread out around the jet.

"Thank you."

"Steve?" The soldier paused, recognizing the voice, and shifted his eyes towards the open door, where the archer was standing in his Avenger's uniform. "What the hell happened?" Clint asked in shock, bewildered at seeing the sword and the smeared blood Steve was cleaning up. He had already used a couple of white rags, which were already filled with the rehydrated blood…it didn't help with the imagery, along with the bag of bloodied gauze.

"Tony's been severely injured, he's in the ICU," Steve revealed grimly and frank.

Clint suddenly looked like he'd been winded. "Nat said he wasn't doing well; she didn't say he was stabbed!" He gaped, putting two and two together, considering the sword.

With a saddened, sympathetic scowl, Steve complied, "He was in surgery for about seven hours." He stayed supported on a knee, but got worried when he saw the blood on Clint's forearm.

"God," the archer snorted with some affection of emotion as Clint ran a hand through his hair, taking a deep breath. Steve could see the concern on his face and in his eyes as the Avenger paced a few steps. He also saw the familiar heavy guilt and pain. "Is he awake at least?"

"No, Bruce thinks he may be in a coma, but it's only been about seven or eight hours since the surgery, so it's still being questioned" Steve informed, pulling off the gloves and balancing himself on his feet. Clint's lip twitched in agonizing frustration. "Nat's with Tony now." The Captain stepped towards Clint, meaning to lend some comfort. "Pepper is here too. She and Bruce are resting; we're taking shifts on vigil for Tony." Although that news was relieving to an extent, Clint was still tense, but he didn't resist as Steve took his bloody wrist in his hand. "What happened, Clint?" Tears quickly gathered to Clint's eyes, and he wheezily choked on them before remaining wordless. "Here, come here," Steve was gentle as he led his colleague to a chair.

As he sat down, Steve went off and returned with the first aid kit. "Friday, turn off the blacklights and turn on LEDs." The AI did so, which made it easier for Steve to see the glass shards and remove them with the tweezers. "I'm sorry about your family," Steve acquitted with amenity. Clint didn't respond, but he winced when Steve plucked out another shard. It looked like he needed a few stitches, but it wasn't anything too bad. "Do you want me to stitch it up here? Or there's a hospital here..."

"No, here's fine," Clint depressed lowly.

"So, what happened?" Steve questioned for a second time, hoping Clint would give him a straight answer.

"After my family..." the archer stopped, swallowing, "..uh...I went to look for survivors in town. I was near this shop trying to help some people when a car barely missed us..hit the shop's window, sent glass everywhere...There was _nobody_ in the car, Steve." Clint was looking agitated and extremely confused as Steve finished pulling out the glass and began wiping off the blood with a wet cloth. "_Please,_ tell me you know what's going on," Clint was desperate.

"I've got some idea of what's going on, but I think it'd be best if all of us discussed it together," Steve input, while he numbed the areas of Clint's forearm he was to stitch up.

"If we're going to discuss Thanos, we'll need to pry Nebula off that ship." Both Clint and Steve glanced towards the ramp where Thor and Rocket emerged. It was Rocket who spoke, leaving the archer staring at the raccoon, utterly baffled.

"He's uh..with Thor," Steve explained, in case Clint decided to shoot the poor creature.

"Oh...kay..." the archer said, trustingly of Steve. He then looked up at Thor as Steve pulled out the needle and thread, "Hey, man, long time no see."

Thor managed a shallow smile, "It's good to see you as well." The smile gradually faded, "I hoped it wouldn't be on these terms..." Sorrow returned to them on that note.

Clint grimaced and looked down at his arm as Steve stitched it up. "You know you don't have to look, right? That's like the worse thing you could do," Steve stated, nearly sharing Clint's grimace since he was watching.

"Eh," Clint shrugged, but listened to the Captain and looked elsewhere, specifically back at Rocket.

"When everyone's well rested and fed, I think we should have a discussion about Thanos," Steve advised to Thor as he tied off the stitches and cut the thread.

"Of course," Thor nodded as Steve began wrapping Clint's forearm with a bandage.

"Who?" Clint quipped.

"Thanos...he did all of _this_," Thor answered harrowingly, and Clint glared at him with a heavy heart.

"We'll need Nebula then," Rocket repeated, crawling up and standing on a chair.

Steve hadn't met this Nebula yet, but all he knew so far was she was with Tony and helped him get home. "Why Nebula?" The super soldier asked.

Rocket gazed at them and casually said, "Well, she's his daughter."

Steve, Thor, and Clint shot their gaze towards Rocket. "His what?" Clint snapped darkly.

* * *

**to be continued...**


	6. The Last One Standing

**ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT || REWRITE IS BEING POSTED AT DEAR MR FANTASY**

**warning** for possible intense, graphic descriptions

* * *

**A Painful Reunion**

6 of ?

The Last One Standing

* * *

**WAKANDA**

A lot of what had happened, had happened too fast. For everyone. It was like when somebody poured too much water out of a jug and into a glass, making it hit the glass way too quickly and splash back out. There was too much information or not enough, and then it was piecing it all together to understand the how and why of it. The thing that was understood were the frustrations and sorrows that came with it, and the desperation to press the rewind button. In that sense, rashness rushed to Clint, hearing that the genocidal tyrant that caused all of this, his daughter was on the ship right next to the quinjet. The archer still wasn't up to speed on the grave situation, but it was time for some justice and answers, even if he had to force it out of somebody. He didn't care at this point; people were suffering. _He_ was suffering.

Clint didn't wait for Steve to finish wrapping up his arm. Adrenaline streamed through his veins, and he pulled away from the Captain as he stood up and fleetly slipped past Thor. _"Clint!'_ Steve called, realizing this was a problem. Clint didn't listen, he grabbed his bow and sauntered off the jet. He tied off the bandage around his forearm as he headed towards the spaceship.

"Hang on a second, wait!" The raccoon had caught up to him, leaping out in front of him with a drunken stumble. "Wait, _stop!_" he vocalized strongly, which made Clint halt, looking down at the small creature long enough that the Avenger felt Steve's hand land on his shoulder.

"Clint, we need to think about this," Steve said calmly, turning Clint slightly. He knew Clint was mourning and looking for something to take his anger out on.

"Think about what?" Clint snapped, looking at Steve. How could they all just be sitting here? Why weren't they doing something to fix this?

"You can't just go barging on there; she'd rip your face off! She ain't fleshy like you and me," Rocket countered, not intending to make Nebula sound hostile, but he got his point across. "Nebula can help us. She hates Thanos more than any of us combined. He killed her sister!" They paused as Thor caught up to them, hearing this. Sadness suddenly gleamed in Rocket's eyes, which Clint noted.

"This is not the way to go about this," Thor told, hoping to straighten out Clint's head, "Clint, I understand how you feel, but we have to have clear heads."

"Yeah, how?" Clint didn't mean to sound rude, but there were times in somebody's life where it felt like they were standing alone.

Slightly agitated with grief, Thor reciprocated with clarity, "Asgard is destroyed, my family is dead, Thanos slaughtered half my people! I don't even know if any of them are left." They stared at Thor with unbearable empathy and guilt clouding over them. Steve knew it was the first time he'd gotten that off his chest while on Earth. "So don't go saying you're the only one who's feeling this sorrow."

Neither of them spoke for another moment, as Thor rose to the top shelf of who had lost the most. It didn't seem right to speak anymore about the subject, but Steve pulled his hand off Clint's shoulder. "Clint, we don't know her," the super soldier supported Thor, "she could be an ally like Rocket says."

"I met her sister on Rocket's ship after they helped me." Steve, Clint, and Rocket looked back at Thor as he spoke more coolly. "She knew a great deal about Thanos and was eager at stopping him. Nebula may have the same priorities," the Asgardian stated.

The archer glared down at the ground, understanding their reasoning. More than anything, he wanted to give condolences to Thor, but he didn't know how to go about doing that. "She was also with your friend. What's his name?" Rocket gazed briefly at Thor before remembering, "Stark?" He turned his attention back to the raging human. "She was with him on Titan. She's been vague on details, but she can help us. She's a victim and mourning just like everyone else. So don't go doing anything stupid," Rocket finished more easily with less bristled fur. The Guardian hoped to shelter his feelings, but he couldn't ignore the fact that Nebula was really the only person he had left that he'd known for a few years. Thor was a good friend, but he'd known Nebula longer, despite the few times she tried to kill them...

"Could we speak to her now?" Steve asked.

A suspicious scowl crossed Rocket's face, "If we are, you're walking on there as allies. Got it?"

"Clint?" The Captain poised, seeing Clint still possibly wanting to kill something, but he gave a nod with a settling sigh.

"Put the bow back on your ship," Rocket murmured as Clint's grip tightened around his bow. With a grunt, Clint walked back to the quinjet, leaving Steve and Thor to exchange a look. When he came back, Rocket led them up the ramp into the Milano. "Nebula?" The raccoon asked while Clint and Steve examined the inside of the ship. It was large, sly, and spacious, although looked well lived in. They reached the main deck, where Rocket saw Nebula in the cockpit still, although she was messing around with the control panel. Rocket walked up to her, while Clint, Steve, and Thor kept their distance, but with the rays of light beaming through the windows, they could see her blue color and the rougher areas of her body that were machine instead of flesh. "What are you doing?" He repeated as she ignored him.

"Sending out transmissions to see who's left out there," she answered without looking at Rocket.

Humming in response, Rocket glanced at Steve, Clint, and Thor before looking back at Nebula. "You're not thinking of going after him are you?" Rocket grew concerned, knowing the thought was probably on her mind. Not that Rocket didn't want to decapitate Thanos, but that was fishing for a monster with a breakable line. Nebula didn't reply. "You know that's suicide."

"He's had plenty of chances to kill me, but he hasn't," she commented, before hesitantly adding, "I guess he just enjoys watching me suffering." There was some pain in her voice, which made Steve and Clint exchange a more grim look for her.

At that point, Steve spoke up before Rocket could, "Nebula, my name is Steve Rogers. We were hoping to have a conversation about Thanos, and sort out what has happened. Rocket says you could help us." Nebula finally looked over her shoulder with a neutral, yet mournful expression. "Thanos has caused a lot of suffering to everyone, including you, but we'd appreciate it if we could get more information."

Nebula dropped her gaze for a moment, but then turned around in her chair. "What do you want to know?" She questioned with a sigh, standing up.

Clint glanced at Steve, knowing he knew more about what to ask. "Why don't we schedule a time to talk?" The Captain advocated, trying to be sincere because Nebula was looking pretty beat and tired herself. Whether she hid it or not, Steve could see it on her stature. "We still have people who are resting up from the aftermath of the fight. How about I discuss it with my people, then Rocket or Thor can come get you. Would that work?" Nebula gave a vague nod. "Alright, well, in the meantime, you should take a break from the je- ship, perhaps. I know Shuri came to speak with you, she'll kindly welcome you into the city."

"I'll give it some thought," Nebula said, although she looked uncertain.

"If you need one of us," Clint butted in, still wary of the woman, "I'm Clint, this is Thor, and Steve introduced himself." There was a confused look that crossed Nebula's face, and she didn't know whether to sneer or be grateful. She never needed to rely on anyone, but for them to offer help to her like that was...almost unheard of.

"Is something wrong?" Thor questioned, noticing her reaction.

"No," she mumbled, shaking off the visible emotions. "Come get me when you're ready."

"Thank you," Steve nodded, looking at Clint. "Come on, why don't we go see Nat and Tony?" It took a moment for the archer to return eye contact as he remained a bit tense, but he followed Steve off the ship with Thor.

When they were gone, Rocket looked up at Nebula, "You should give them a chance. These humans really aren't that bad." The daughter of the Mad Titan stayed where she was, continuing to watch the humans and Thor leave. "Besides, I'm hungry. What about you?"

* * *

After taking a small detour through the city, Steve, Clint, and Thor entered into the hospital. The African sun was growing scorching hot, and the humidity had skyrocketed. It was about three in the afternoon, but it wasn't known if the heat was to get worse or not. In fact, some Wakandans were acting like they were preparing for a storm. The building was air-conditioned, though, and felt nice against their skin. As they walked up floors and down corridors, Clint could feel his soul urging to speak to Thor. Whenever he glanced at the Asgardian, he could see emotional pain still clinging to his face and eventually it became too much. "I'm sorry about your family and Asgard," Clint finally said, trying to comfort. He was curious if his family included Loki, not that Clint cared about Loki, considering what he put Clint through.

Acknowledging Clint's efforts, Thor responded, "I'm sorry about your family as well. It definitely isn't something that's easily mended."

"No, it's not," Clint agreed depressingly, gazing at his feet as they walked. Suddenly Clint huffed, bumping into Steve, not realizing the super soldier had stopped. "Sor-" The archer cut himself off, looking up to see what Steve was gawking at. Doctors and nurses were swarmed up ahead...

Not waiting for questions, Steve hurried over to Natasha, who was out in the hallway. "What happened?" Fear choked Steve as he pressed urgently, and Clint immediately froze, realizing this was Tony's room..._oh god_...He quickly flanked beside Steve, and Thor swiftly followed them.

His best friend, apparently blond now, had her arms crossed. There was a mixture of shock and horror written all over her face. "He started _crashing_," the assassin croaked weakly, looking at them. Steve looked stunned and became breathless. "I don't know either, it came out of nowhere," Natasha said, thunderstruck herself, "He was stable one second, then his vitals began dropping, and it just hit."

"But he's okay now?" Clint disheartened, for once, unable to read her face with how much fear and stress had gripped hold of her.

"They're stabilizing him," Natasha confirmed, but it didn't ease their racing hearts, and the look on her face explained nothing good. "They're examining him to be sure nothing tore open. They might need to take him back into surgery." Steve frowned as Clint wandered up to the glass windows, trying peeking into the room, but they were fogged out. He was still unsure of what happened, but it was apparent at Tony's condition. The thought made him glare pensively at the doctors, seeing them hive in and out of the room...At one point, Clint may have wanted to sock Tony on the jaw, but this was a whole other level the Avenger didn't deserve.

"Did you notify Bruce?" Steve asked.

"Yeah, he's on his way," she replied, looking over her shoulder at Clint with sympathy. "Hey," she said quietly. Natasha didn't mean to not greet him, but the unexpected situation made all other thoughts phase from her mind.

"Hey," he was doleful, "you okay?" Shifting his attention her way, Clint approached her. She looked like she was trying to bite back some tears. The archer, honestly, didn't have any words, so he ended up hugging her. He rested his head on her shoulder, knowing a hug was something they all needed currently.

"No," she admitted with an unsteady sigh. Past Natasha's shoulder, he saw Bruce jogging down the hallway. When the others heard his footsteps, Clint let Natasha go, and they turned to see him slowing to a speedy walk. He looked exhausted, but rushed over. He'd been sound asleep for a few hours, but awoke to the consistent text messages. Dread washed over him when he read _he's coding_. There wasn't enough time to alert Rhodey or Pepper, Bruce quietly slipped out and went as quickly as he could, praying Tony wasn't gone by the time he got there.

Bruce was out of breath. He didn't even need to ask; he could see their reactions as Ada, Tony's doctor, walked out of the room and came up to them. A few of the other doctors and nurses began to leave the room. "What happened? Why did this...?" Bruce questioned at her bluntly, scared at the look on her face.

"From what we've collected, nothing has reopened, there's no uncontrolled bleeding," the doctor said, but Bruce didn't know what to make of that. The fact that this happened out of surgery wasn't good. Bruce wasn't even sure if there was coming back from this, if there was, it was a low percentage. They were told Tony wasn't out of the woods, but Bruce had hoped this wouldn't happen. "Listen," Ada's gentle tone rattled them somberly, "Mr. Stark took massive amounts of damage and...has he been through a few surgeries? I noticed a lot of scar tissue around the device on his chest, and I've been meaning to ask."

"Yes, he's had a couple," Natasha answered dejectedly. "He had a severe chest injury in two thousand eight, dealing with shrapnel. Tony had to have an electromagnet installed in his chest to keep the shrapnel from reaching his heart." Ada looked rather shocked, not having heard of anything like that done, _ever_. "He had that for about... five years I think, but he then had open heart surgery to remove the shrapnel."

"I see..." Ada didn't sound hopeful. "His body has probably taken a toll from that?"

"Yeah," Bruce said, "he's had some heart problems in the past."

"I think his heart is overworking itself," the surgeon revealed after contemplating for a moment. "It's probable that his heart's been affected by that past trauma and is not as strong. And that's stacking with the present trauma he's received to his chest and abdomen, including the blood loss, which is causing very low blood pressure. We've had him on IVs and transfusions, but there's only so much we can give him at a time." Nothing good was coming from this news. It was difficult standing there and hearing it because it wasn't settling well at all. Tony's condition was frank.

"So, his heart just...gave out?" Clint asked with quenching agony.

Ada looked at Clint with sympathy, trying to be as understanding and genial as possible. "Looks that way." The moment she said that melancholy fell upon Bruce, Natasha, Steve, and Clint. Thor wasn't as knowledgeable about what was going on, but he was getting the gist from their behaviors. "We're going to take more measures to get further stress off his heart. It's fighting low blood pressure and straining itself at the same time, which is a problem. If we give him medication, like a type of adrenaline to increase blood pressure, it could strain the heart, but if we give him medication to relax the heart, it could dangerously lower his blood pressure further. I'm going to see if I can find something that'll work in the middle, so we won't put him at risk."

Nobody knew what to say, realizing Tony had become almost entirely dependent on equipment, machines, and medicine to keep him alive. Sighs and hands burying faces arose as the concern branded them. "...So, what happens from here?" The super soldier dared to ask.

"Doctors are going to be consistently monitoring him," Ada started. "It's still early after the surgery, but from what I've gathered, whether he gets better or worse from here is..." She paused, holding her expression, before saying, "I have to be honest with you, so you know...I don't think he's going to get better. There's a chance he could improve, but it's a small window." The five of them stared at her, with shallow and deep, agonizing breaths. "He's stable now, though. And I'm going to keep doing what I can for him." For a small moment, she rested a comforting hand on Bruce's shoulder, before she walked away.

The Avengers were left alone in the hallway.

* * *

There wasn't anything to be done, no matter how badly the Avengers wanted to do something to guarantee Tony's survival. Eventually, they split up: Bruce returned to his hotel room to speak with Rhodey and Pepper; Steve and Natasha stayed with Tony; Thor went to rest up, as he was running barely on two or three hours of sleep; Clint did the same, finding somewhere to get some shut-eye.

Mulling over the thoughts of his family, Clint laid in the bed, wishing Laura was there and wishing his kids would come to jump on the bed; waking them up. There was the faint sound of laughter in Clint's ear, and there was a sweet feeling of summer, which almost made him smile...but then he woke up to the clap of thunder and a strike of lightening that briefly lit the dark, empty room. Immediately, he felt tears in his eyes and a lump in his throat. He hated this; he hated all this sorrow and tragedy. The thought of not wanting to be alone made him wonder if Natasha might be up.

Stirring under the covers, Clint lifted his head to gaze out the window. It was night, well, eleven p.m. according to the clock, and pouring down rain. The shifts for watching Tony had probably changed. Bruce, Rhodey, and Pepper were likely with him now. He thought of going to visit them, not exactly wanting to go back to sleep, knowing the bittersweet dreams would haunt him. Earlier, he meant to go see Tony, but he wasn't sure if he could handle seeing him in such a condition, teetering between life and death. He wasn't ready to see somebody else he cared about like that...But, eventually, Clint rolled himself out of bed; to be honest, he didn't know if he'd get another chance in case Tony didn't make it. When he was ready, he proceeded out of the slumbering hotel and to the hospital. It was a bit of a challenge, remembering where to go, but Clint finally found the ICU and Tony's room.

Slipping quietly into the doorway, Clint's eyes landed on his friend who laid unconscious. Critical worry hovered with Clint, seeing the Golden Avenger's condition looking far worse than Clint had originally thought. His skin looked cool, clammy, and dull of color underneath all the wires and tubes. Bruce, Rhodey, and Pepper saw Clint's movement out of the corner of their eyes. "Clint...hey," Pepper greeted warmly yet sympathetic. She was sitting on the far side of the bed, sitting in a chair close to Tony. Her phone was in her hand, while Bruce sat in an armchair reading and Rhodey dazing out in thought.

"Hey," he replied, taking a few more steps into the room as Bruce and Rhodey came over to him. "Bruce, good to see you," Clint said with a mere grin, shaking his long-lost friend's hand before pulling into a hug. They never got the chance to speak or interact with each other in the hallway earlier, in spite of the devastation which happened with Tony.

"You too," Bruce muttered, breaking from the hug and allowing Rhodey the chance to give Clint a hug also.

"How are you?" Rhodey asked kindly, having heard about Clint's family.

Clint gave Rhodey a repined look, but never got to answer as Pepper walked up to him. They shared a mournful look before Pepper tenderly hugged the Avenger. "I'm so sorry," she whispered as Clint embraced the hug, not resisting the comfort. When he pulled back, he wiped his eyes for stray tears.

"I'm sorry too," Clint responded, gesturing to Tony, explaining, "with what happened." They all fell quiet, their attention drawing to Tony. Clint put a comforting hand on her arm, knowing Pepper was fighting back her own lump in the throat. "What are his injuries?" Clint asked, letting his hand fall off Pepper's arm as his eyes held on the billionaire.

"There's a lot of abdominal damage," Bruce told bleakly with a grimace, folding his arms, "he's got kidney damage, some intestinal, his stomach was practically torn in half. As for chest damage, he's got a few broken ribs, and the bottom of his left lung was punctured..." the scientist trailed off for a break, seeing Clint's eyes softening at hearing the severity of Tony's wounds. "...He lost a lot of blood...and the punctured lung isn't working yet; the doctors are cutting air from it to give it time to rest. There's also some pretty bad bruising on the rest of his body."

"I didn't...I didn't realize it was this bad," Clint stuttered, actually _fearing_ for Tony's well-being.

"Neither did we," Rhodey was hush with the comment.

Running a hand through her hair, Pepper was looking overwhelmed as she walked back to her chair beside Tony. Bruce and Rhodey didn't mention anymore to Clint, leaving him to his own thoughts as the archer walked closer to Tony's side. He dragged a chair over and sat down in it. As he sat there, he gazed at his wounded teammate...Clint sat there for a long time, hiding his face in his palms as emotion leaked to his face. Good memories were still present in Clint's mind, but it only made him think of how they got here. How did something so stupid like the Accords split them up? And after all, they'd been through together...It took deaths for them to reunite. Resting his chin on his folded hands, propped up by his elbows on his knees, he uttered under his breath to Tony, "You need to pull through this." Clint glanced at all the IVs and the butterfly closure bandages over cuts on his face as Tony remained unresponsive; he wanted Tony to wake up, and he wanted him to be okay.

Several hours passed until Steve and Natasha met back up with Bruce, Pepper, Clint, and Rhodey. Finally being all together, they decided to send Thor to get Rocket and Nebula. While they waited, Clint was briefed on the infinity stones, and Steve made the others aware of who Nebula was, which alerted Bruce, Natasha, Pepper, and Rhodey, but Steve eventually reassured them. The only problem was that Pepper was iffy about having Nebula in Tony's room, considering her father was the one that put Tony in this position, but she was reasoned into it. Once Thor, Nebula, and Rocket had joined them, and the tension in the room had simmered, the conversation started with Steve asking, "Is there any way out of this?" Nebula's eyes were briefly on Tony, not knowing how bad the human's condition was, but she looked at the Captain as he posed the question.

"Thanos has all six Infinity Stones," Nebula said, a little irritated at the dumb question, "he's completely unstoppable." The Avengers exchanged glances, hoping she'd give them something to cancel out their doubt.

"There's absolutely no way to undo this?" Rocket inquired, standing on the arm of a chair, so he didn't seem the smallest in the room. All the other humans were standing, facing each other as they spoke. Although, the woman sitting by the injured man remained where she was, but she was listening intently.

"No," Nebula was stiff as she spoke.

There was some suspicion in the room. "How do we know you aren't lying?" Bruce weighed in.

"Why would I have a reason to lie when I snuck onto Thanos' ship to kill him," Nebula snapped, remembering Thanos closing his fist and pulling her apart.

"Unless she's acting as a double agent," Natasha proposed cautiously, not wanting to provoke Nebula.

"She's not," Rocket mumbled, although driving his attention to Nebula as he added, "although, you were maniac enough to try giving the Power Stone to Ronan and killing us several times."

Nebula stated sharply, "I thought Ronan could kill Thanos."

"How did that turn out?" Thor quipped, almost with slight sarcasm. "Using a genocidal maniac against a genocidal maniac?"

"Okay, what's with the Power Stone?" Rhodey asked, confused at how they'd crossed paths with one of the stones.

"Thanos sent a war criminal to retrieve the Power Stone," Nebula said, leaning against the door frame, "he succeeded."

"Yeah, no thanks to you," Rocket snorted, speaking up to explain what happened. "Ronan almost wiped out an entire civilization on a planet called Xandar with the Power Stone, similar to the civilization here on Terra." That news struck them as the raccoon continued, "But the Guardians of the Galaxy, my group, stopped him and the Power Stone was safely stored on Xandar." Listening closely to Rocket, their eyes shifted from the raccoon to Thor as he asked the Asgardian, "But...Thor, you said Thanos destroyed Xandar?"

"He destroyed an entire planet?" Clint asked, feeling pity.

"To get the Power Stone, yes," Thor answered sullenly. Silence befell them for a moment before Thor looked at Nebula. "Do you know where the Soul Stone was?"

After glaring at the floor and folding her arms uncomfortably, Nebula returned Thor's gaze. "Gamora said it was on Vormir." Her mournful, edgy looked was noticed.

Loitering beside Tony, Pepper was holding Tony's hand while her phone laid on the sheets. She was rather distracted by the text messages, but was quite aware of the conversation going on. "Do you know where Thanos is now?" Pepper asked, a bit shaken. There was fear deep inside of her, wondering if this madman would come back to finish off Tony or any of them. If he did, it wouldn't be the first time something like that happened, but she didn't think there'd be a way to stop it this time. "Could he come back?"

"He could be anywhere," Nebula conceded, which wasn't helpful at all.

"With the Soul Stone, he could even go back and forth between the soul realm and the physical realm," Thor mentioned, but that didn't alter the situation either, knowing Thanos could walk between the land of the dead and the land of the living.

"So that jackass is just hanging out in paradise while we're all here suffering?" Rocket hissed with fury, his ears tilting back.

"Could he come back?" Pepper repeated, not getting an answer from the blue woman. Nebula was looking a bit cornered, so all she did was shrug.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Rocket retorted with a hand gesture, "He's your lunatic step-dad!"

A monumental, pissed off expression flashed on Nebula's face and she calmly, yet sternly took a few steps towards Rocket. "Don't you _ever_ relate him to me!" She scolded, almost grabbing Rocket's tunic. The raccoon didn't flinch, but he stepped back onto the back of the chair, hiding slightly behind Bruce's larger body. Thor put a hand out in front of Nebula to stop her, which she did. "That monster kidnapped and tortured me and Gamora! He traded her soul for the Soul Stone, or didn't you know, you asshole." Nebula sneered, stepping back and taking a deep breath to calm herself. The tension and flinching going from one person to the next subsided into a well of congeniality, upon hearing that. Many heavy eyes were on Nebula, including Pepper's as Nebula ambled closer to the bed. "Yeah, he'll probably be back. It could be months or even years before he does, but he'll be back," she said agitated. "Thanos probably won't finish us off if he doesn't see us as a threat. Although, who could be a threat to the infinity gauntlet?" Everybody was left speechless, there was even guilt pattering Rocket's face at the words he chose to use. The understanding of who Nebula was was suddenly clear to the Avengers that she was a victim, as Rocket said, and this ruminated personally for her. Nebula returned to leaning on the door frame, her body facing the opposite wall of the doorway, away from the others. "So you know, he was the last one standing," she then muttered, and the direction of her head made everybody else in the room gaze at Tony.

"What?" Natasha asked, taken aback, yet confused.

"When I got to Titan, he was with the Guardians already fighting Thanos," Nebula divulged.

"Was anybody else with Tony? Any other humans?" Bruce questioned.

"Yeah, two. The one with the cape and the boy," she informed, not moving from her position.

"What boy?" Steve quickly asked as everybody's heads shot up, either scared or confused.

"Peter?" Pepper asked deeply in shock and denial. She had met the kid several times and had grown to care about him as Tony did. In fact, Pepper was pretty sure Peter was the reason Tony was suddenly interested in having a child.

A thought came to Bruce, remembering what happened in New York, in that park. "When New York was attacked, that Spiderman guy came out of nowhere. Is that who we're talking about?" Bruce asked.

Rhodey put a hand under his nose, and pivoted slightly. "Oh my god..." he struggled at getting the words out. He'd met Peter plenty of times as well, and knowing that Thor had concluded Nebula and Tony were the only survivors... Glancing over at Pepper, he could see how upset she was, and the grisly feeling came back. Natasha and Steve had only ran into this Spiderman once, but knowing how young he was and seeing the things he did on TV, it wasn't digesting easily, Bruce could see that.

"They had Thanos subdued, and they almost had the gauntlet off his hand, but..." Their attention returned to Nebula with insufferable grief, hearing that Tony and those with him had nearly _won_ at getting the gauntlet. Nebula paused, pondering for a moment, but in all, decided to avoid the truth about Quill's fault. "There was an incident, and Thanos got free. I don't remember much after that; he incapacitated all of us. I just know I saw your friend fighting Thanos alone. He was holding his ground against Thanos for some time, but Thanos eventually got the upper hand." Steve gleamed at Tony. There was once a time went the Captain had told the Avenger he wasn't somebody who'd make the sacrifice play...but there he was driving a nuke through a wormhole and here he was now, with the ultimate consequences for sacrificing it all to ensure their lives.

"And Thanos got the Time Stone from Strange?" Natasha wondered, knowing she was emotionally hurting as much as the soldier was.

"I assume," Nebula replied, "I was still a little disoriented, but I think he handed it over."

"Handed it over?" Bruce was puzzled because Strange had told them directly he took an oath to protect the stone. "That doesn't make sense, why would he just hand it over?"

"I don't think it really matters anymore," Rocket commented petulantly, walking back onto the arm of the chair from the back, "he's got all the stones."

"So there's nothing that can be done?" Clint pried with a very barren and empty voice.

"At this point, no," Nebula confirmed, and the paralyzing terror swept through the room. It was completely _over_. How could it be that this happened? That they weren't strong enough to stop this...

No more words were exchanged, and everybody seemed to either go sit down or walk off to process this idea that their loss was final. "Why don't we take a break?" Thor suggested gingerly, "We can think it over, maybe we'll eventually come up with something." Nobody acknowledged, aside their agreement. After a few moments, Nebula walked off, leaving everybody in the ICU as dawn finally came and ended the first day.

* * *

Another day passed, and the world was anxious and scared. Any news was on the vanished individuals, despite ethnicity, age, or gender. There was desperation for answers and panic as to where the Avengers were. Arguments of ending the Accords grew more frequent as Tony Stark continued to remain missing to the media's knowledge. Pepper's phone was blowing up with calls and texts from Stark Industries, begging her to return to headquarters as the world tried picking up the broken pieces by itself. In discussion about how to go about things, Pepper refused to go back to New York with Tony in his condition. If she was gone and he coded, that was unacceptable; she couldn't leave his side. There was talk of Rhodey going in place of Pepper, or Steve and Natasha going to settle out the Accords, but nothing had been decided.

That night, Wakanda decided to hold their memorial ceremony, to which the Avengers, Pepper, Rocket, and Nebula joined to honor those who had died. Candles were lit and placed on wooden-carved slates, sent floating down the river. It was almost the most peace anyone had gotten in days, seeing the quiet, relaxing lights stand out against the dark. The beautiful, glimmering flames weren't enough to cancel out those who wept, but it gave a sense of comfort. When it was over, Pepper immediately went back to the hospital, afraid to leave Tony for too long. Although, his damaged lung soon started working, which allowed her some ease to go to New York with Steve and Rhodey. Natasha and Bruce stayed in Wakanda with Tony, while Thor, Rocket, and Nebula took care of the spikes outside of the dome.

For a day they were in New York, dealing with cleanup as Stark Industries lent power and aid to those who needed it. Rhodey and Steve sorted out the Accords, not to the full extent, but providing knowledge on what happened allowed pardon for the wanted Avengers. Questions about Stark's location were penetrating, but Steve revealed to the world that Tony Stark was back with the Avengers and in critical condition. That seemed to rile Earth up even more.

Of course, they couldn't stay in New York. After putting the world in a certain direction of recovery and giving Stark Industries somewhere to start, Pepper, Rhodey, and Steve quickly returned to Wakanda after stopping at the Avengers' Compound to get a few things. There was still no change with Tony by the time they got back, and the shifts painstakingly continued. It wasn't helping either when there was suddenly some rumored talk about what to do if Tony didn't wake up or improve in a certain amount of days. Pepper and the Avengers cringed at the thought of needing to let Tony go, but it would be harsh keeping him on life support if he never got better. The idea was quickly shoved aside though; they weren't at that stage yet.

Four days went by, leaving Natasha and Bruce in Tony's room. Normally, reading was the usual hobby, but today they were playing cards, Blackjack specifically. They weren't betting anything, just a friendly game. As they started another round after Natasha had won, the first card Bruce dealt to her was the ace of diamonds. "Are you kidding me? Are you just on some winning streak?" Bruce mused.

"What can I say?" She responded with a shallow smile, "I'm a rather lucky person."

"That seems to be the case," Bruce said benevolently. The next card he pulled was a five. "Oh, that's sixteen. Do you want another hit?"

Natasha thought for a moment before deciding, "Yeah, I'll take another card." A three was the next card. "Yeah, I'll stop there." She leaned back in her chair contently as Bruce pulled out a nine from the card pile for himself. "I miss this," Natasha mumbled, gratefully cherishing this moment. What they'd been through and lost, what they were still going through was a lot, but the pain was manageable with Bruce there and those of the Avengers who were left; Steve, Rhodey, Thor, Tony, and even Pepper. "I missed you," she added, "we all did. Heck, Clint and Stark even _retired_ after you left."

"No," Bruce replied in disbelief, knowing Tony very well. He glanced over at his friend in the hospital bed and to Natasha, "You're serious?"

"Yeah, I am," the Avenger smiled, "Clint went home, and Tony was still our benefactor and designed all of our stuff, but he hung the suit up...a lot happened while you were gone."

"Yeah, I know," Bruce sighed, not regretting meeting up with Thor, but he missed them too. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Things happen," Natasha attempted to comfort, "it's not your fault." Those words, Bruce heard them, but a shadow was drawing over him, and a saddened look crossed his face. When he looked over to Tony, Natasha took his hand in hers, realizing his fret. "Bruce..." He briefly glared at her, but his eyes fell down to the coffee table between them. She didn't know what to say to make him feel better, so she asked, "Do you want something to eat or maybe some tea?"

"Yeah," he nodded quietly, "sure." At that queue, Natasha squeezed Bruce's hand affectionately before raising to her feet. Rounding the table, she headed for the door, but abruptly stopped halfway. Bruce glanced over his shoulder, noticing this as Natasha stared at Tony. "Nat? What's wrong?" He quipped with concern.

"Bruce," the assassin whispered, beckoning him to his feet as she approached the far side of the hospital bed. "Tony?" Bruce's attention perked, hearing Natasha call to the billionaire. Slowly he walked up to the other side of the bed, but he stopped further away from Tony. The scientist was doubtful as the downed Avenger's eyes remained shut. Maybe Natasha thought she saw movement, but from Bruce's perspective, his ailing friend stayed limp. "Tony?" Natasha's voice dug deeper, in hopes her eyes weren't lying to her; she was sure she saw his eyes cracked open. A pessimistic feeling wove over her, starting to wonder if she'd been wrong, but then Tony's eyes gradually cracked open. They were glassy and dull, but he was awake.

* * *

**to be continued...**


	7. Ultimate Consequences

**ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT || REWRITE IS BEING POSTED AT DEAR MR FANTASY**

**warning** for possible intense, graphic descriptions

* * *

**A Painful Reunion**

7 of ?

Ultimate Consequences

* * *

_..._

_..."Tony, it's going be okay"..._

_..._

_..."You're going to make it"..._

_..._

_..."Stark"..."Stay with us"..._

_..._

_..._

Sound was growing muffled, everything that was once heard faded out. The figures over him blurred and when his eyes shut, he felt himself go limp and he was _gone_. Silence carried, to the best of Tony's knowledge, drowning out every ounce of blood and pain and horrors. It collapsed in confusion though, when Tony managed to slit open his eyes to the overwhelming light that leaked into his irises. A haunting memory flashed to his mind of blistering heat, and stark sands, and the blinding sun after being held in the dark, kept alive by a car battery. Within a second, his eyes drooped shut; it was an exhausting effort even to attempt opening them.

Little by little, faint beeping led it's way to his ears. When he barely pried his eyes open for the second time, the lights dimmed down to be much mellower, but it was almost too dark, and it suddenly brought Tony back to that cave; when hands were holding him down, and cutting open his chest while he screamed. Tony's eyes shut again, washed in nightmares that were finding their way back. _"Tony?"_ The vagueness of Tony's frightening thoughts paused at the gentle, yet muffled voice. Slowly, his eyes opened to a hazy vision and suddenly he was confused again with a moment of waking up in a hospital, no longer with shrapnel in his chest. It hurt like hell, but it was a good pain, knowing he was free from that metal shard that haunted him for years.

This wasn't a good pain. It was numbed to an extent, but Tony could feel the soreness, and the aches, and the bruises. _"...hey..."_ The soft voice captured Tony's attention and when his vision somewhat cleared enough, he thought Pepper was standing off to the side; after a rough moment of recognition, he realized it was Natasha.

Staring into oblivion, Tony repressed at hearing her murmur, "Tony, you're in the hospital." Tony wasn't a stranger to unconsciousness, it swayed in and out, dragging Tony into a chaotic chain of confusion as the barriers between what was past and what was present hindered; whenever he managed to become half-conscious, the dark abyss was there to swaddle him into nightmarish memories as his eyes shut, and everything would go black.

At one point, he could feel his lungs catching full of water as his captors waterboarded him; forcing him under the water over and over until he nearly passed out from lacking oxygen. His lungs burned, and his chest ached, and he yelled in frustration. He was then trapped under debris on the ocean floor, drowning. _"Tony?"_ Every once in a while, during his intervals of consciousness, he'd hear someone call his name amongst a sea of whispers he couldn't understand and didn't care to understand. The majority of these times, he was too fatigued even to crack open his eyes, but he knew people were starting to hover; kept their distance out of respect and not meaning to startle him, but he could feel the presence of people hovering here and there, and in and out. _"Tony."_ He was unaware of the passage of time, but when the voice crept to his ears, he felt a hand caressing his comfortingly. It took a long moment, but Tony closed his fingers around the hand, knowing it was Pepper.

Darkness crossed his mind as he found himself cold and alone in space; through that wormhole, facing the unfathomable, endless fleet that made its way towards Earth until the nuke struck it. Tony could feel his lungs constrict from absolute no air, left to die in the black vastness. He'd seen it...Thanos' army, he knew what was coming and saw what was coming. _"Tony."_ Thoughts were driving harshly through his mind, but his eyes cracked open. "You're okay," Bruce said calmly, approaching his side, making Tony realize his heart was pounding nervously. As the memories subsided for a merciful moment, Tony became tranquil and the monitor's beeping returned to normal as his heartbeat relaxed. Tony's attention wasn't entirely on Bruce, his vision still contained foggy patches, but the scientist looked gravely concerned. Out of the corner of his eye, Tony noticed Pepper was no longer there. Two other figures were towards the back of the room, but Tony's eyes weren't making them out visibly. He shut his eyes, and when he tried swallowing, he felt the tube. He definitely didn't forget that after waking up from open heart surgery, it made him want to choke; except it wasn't all too noticeable while being numb and hardly conscious.

While his eyes stayed closed, he heard people talking, but it wasn't anything articulate. _"Tony."_ At some point, he heard his name again, but he was too exhausted to open his eyes. With how he felt, all he wanted to do was rest; he didn't fight against unconsciousness, he had no urge or strength to do so, but they kept pestering. "Tony, can you open your eyes?" A bit of frustration started to swamp with Tony's anguish. How were they not understanding that he couldn't? "If you wake up, they can take the tube out," Bruce's voice was gentle and quiet, but Tony felt himself slip back into the dark.

He may have heard a soft, "Come on, Tony," but it was a while before Tony woke up again. He blinked drowsily, and people blurrily moved to and from the room. Tony wanted to close his eyes again, but he held them half opened when they coaxed him as he tiredly blinked a few times in between stares. Time lapses occurred as Tony's attention span veered; he wasn't aware of what was going on, but at some point, he realized the tube was gone. That left no air in his lungs and he could feel his heart beating faster. An oxygen mask was given to him and he loathed the first tiny breath he took; he hurt so bad. Quickly, Tony shakily dragged his hand, with enormous effort, up to the mask; holding it in place as he laid there needing air, but hating breathing all the same. Voices deafened, and things grew blurrier, but Tony made out Bruce beside him, laying a comforting hand on Tony's forearm while he rasped edgy and rigid breaths. Unsteadily, he inhaled an incomplete breath, managing a painful groan before fleetly exhaling. In between his respirations, he paused for an overly long moment, which brought Tony worried reactions from those around him as he swiftly began fading back out. "Tony, breathe," Bruce urged, scared as Tony squinted his eyes with another wince, "I know its hard." He heard the words, but he didn't listen; he continued breathing rattling breaths as his lungs screamed. "Deep breaths," he instructed as black patches clouded Tony's vision, "come on, Tony." Tony let his hand fall still on his chest and he saw somebody else's hand tenderly take his. _"Tony."_ There were mountains of concern in Bruce's voice and whoever else spoke, but that didn't stop Tony from shutting his eyes and going limp.

* * *

When Tony passed out, Bruce kept a hand on his friend's arm for a moment; he observed him with tremendous worry, not liking the way he was breathing, but of course, Bruce had never been stabbed before or injured to the extent Tony was. He exchanged a glance with Rhodey (who was on the other side of Tony) before Bruce sat back down in the chair beside the bed. Tony's breaths were shallow, but then when he exhaled, he wouldn't breathe again for several seconds which made Bruce and Rhodey paranoid. "At least he's breathing," Rhodey said, lightly moving Tony's hand off his chest and placing it back at the billionaire's side. Bruce didn't answer though, and Rhodey sat down as well. The Golden Avenger had been in and out of consciousness for a little over a day. Bruce wasn't sure how long this was going to last, but at least they were getting somewhere. Tony just needed more rest.

Over the next day, everybody came and went frequently, but Tony didn't wake up too often. If he did, they weren't there to see it or never got the chance to try speaking with him. Although, as Steve walked into the room, he saw Pepper and Natasha together in the sitting area with tea. "Hey," Steve murmured before taking a look at Tony. The Avenger was still weak, but he looked better then he did a few days ago; he was still pale, but some color had returned to his face. Plus, the chest tube was gone, and his breathing was significantly smoother. Still uneasy and looking painful, but Tony seemed much more peaceful. It had been six days, almost nearing seven since he was stabbed.

"Steve, how are you?" Pepper asked the super soldier, knowing his mind was dwelling in the aftermath and their losses.

"Eh, I'm doing as well as I can, I guess," Steve was honest with a shrug. None of them really knew how to proceed from the 'snap,' all they could do was wait and try to do their best. "Has Tony waken up at all?" He wondered, glancing over at Tony again.

"Not recently," Natasha answered, "no."

"Here, why don't you sit," Pepper welcomed, which led Steve to do as she offered.

He sat down across from them, and his eyes fell on Pepper. "But how are you, Pepper?" He quipped kindly, knowing she'd been in this hospital room the most out of all of them. She had to be drained, he could see it in her eyes. Resting her chin in her hand, she gleamed at him, not knowing how to answer. Her body language, though, spoke volumes about how she was feeling. Relief and sadness, regret and strength. Tony was recovering very slowly, and Steve could tell Pepper missed him. He was here with them, but he was never awake long enough or had the strength to start a conversation. It disheartened Steve, and Natasha placed a hand on Pepper's shoulder comfortingly.

"He's getting better," Pepper sighed as Natasha pulled her hand from her shoulder. Dropping her gaze from Steve briefly, Pepper said, "That's the important thing."

Steve agreed silently, asking "Have you been out to see the city at all?"

Pepper shook her head, "No."

"Maybe you should take a walk around," the Avenger suggested kindly, knowing it'd be good for Pepper to get out of the hospital and hotel. Everybody else, even Bruce had done some exploring. It, honestly, was the only means of escape from reality. Going outside, taking a walk, getting fresh air as therapy to the horrors they've faced. Steve knew Pepper was the only one who hadn't left the premise, except to go to the memorial ceremony. What Nebula had said about Thanos coming back, it left everyone with a guarded, uneasy feeling. It was even worse for Pepper, knowing it was only a matter of time before Thanos came back; and it was a gamble if he'd come back for Tony if he was seen as a threat. Paranoia took hold at the thought of leaving Wakanda's stronghold.

"I know," Pepper admitted hesitantly, "but, I just..." she trailed off, staring over at Tony, "it's hard to leave him."

"Well, if you ever want to step outside, just let us know," Steve offered, "one of us would be happy to go with you if you wanted."

"Thank you," Pepper replied graciously with a thoughtful nod, "I appreciate it."

"So where's Bruce? I thought he was here." Steve took a few glances around the room, making it aware that the scientist was missing.

Pepper and Natasha exchanged a glance. "We're not too sure, he said he'd be right back, and that was fifteen or twenty minutes ago," Natasha informed, but she didn't look too concerned. People tended to wander off and disappear now and then.

"Mm," Steve was casual, "well, you've got me now."

"Eh, we don't want _you," _the assassin joked lightly.

Steve grinned at her warmly, but it was hard to absorb anything enjoyable now. "Bruce and I have been seeing if we can be moved to a penthouse instead of staying in the hotel. I'm not sure how long we're staying here in Wakanda, but if we are we'll need someplace to stay, and it'll be better for Tony's recovery whenever he's able to leave the hospital," he told, leaning back in the chair he was sitting in.

"That's good," Pepper approved, "it'll be best for all of us to stay together."

"I think its smart to stay here in Wakanda also," Natasha mentioned, folding her hands together while they were supported on her knees. "It may be able to hold Thanos off to an extent. I think we should even consider temporarily moving the Avengers' compound here; bring our armory to store and protect it."

"Unfortunately, we're all that's left," Steve muttered, revealing that a lot of their support at the Compound was gone; whatever was left was partnering with Stark Industries to aid in the aftermath of Thanos. "But, we stopped by the Compound while in New York. We picked up a few things," as Steve said this, he glanced at Pepper with a mutual and acknowledging expression. Natasha noticed this look, but didn't get the chance to ask. "There's still a lot more there, so we may need to make another trip," the Captain added.

"The Compound could still act as a base," Pepper input, "Friday could watch over it; be sure no looters come by, thinking the Compound is empty."

"Yeah," Natasha incited, "a lot of that's going around." With lack of people in the government and policing the cities, whatever criminals were left were out and about recklessly. It was shocking at how wicked some people could be, even after something so tragic like the deaths of three billion people.

A deep sigh escaped Steve's lungs. It was a huge mess, and it seemed like they were failing at trying to help the world recover, but luckily Stark Industries was acting as pillars. "We'll have t-"

_"...pepper?..."_

The trio's conversation stopped abruptly as Pepper's attention was the first to shoot over to Tony, recognizing his voice which was layered dry and hoarse. Steve and Natasha gazed over in Tony's direction also. When Pepper swiftly rose to her feet and gingerly approached her partner, Steve and Natasha followed her, but kept their distance. "Tony," Pepper said gently, seeing his glassy, tired eyes trained on her as she walked up to his side.

_"..pe...per.."_ Tony mumbled and slowly blinked, but she understood and wrapped her hand around his.

"Tony, I'm here," she whispered, but loud enough for him to hear. "I'm here," Pepper repeated, hoping to lend comfort and affection to Tony as she stood over him. Tony didn't squeeze her hand, and she noticed something in his eyes that told her he was still very out of it. That was to be expected though. Gazing over her shoulder, she saw Natasha quickly leave the room. Her eyes then met Steve's and relief flooded them when the Captain saw a spark of happiness ignite in Pepper. As she sat down, she pulled the chair as close to the bed as she could while continuing to grip Tony's hand.

Steve took a few steps towards Tony as the downed Avenger shut his eyes; he did that often, but he'd always reopen them. Suddenly, Steve looked behind him, watching Nat reenter the room with Bruce. "Tony?" Bruce asked, halting at Tony's bedside while Natasha flanked Steve, but her eyes still governed Tony.

His friend's eyes were closed at the moment. _"...mmm..."_ Tony moaned weakly, but in the next second Tony resurfaced and his eyes sluggishly fluttered open. Relief was settling like dust after the agonizing days that passed, but a chunk of concern still grasped.

Bruce searched for proper words to say. _How are you? How are you feeling? _Those questions seemed rather dumb though, with the answer merely being: _no stupid_, how would you feel after getting brutally assaulted and stabbed by someone almost twice your size, then left to die? With an empathetic scowl towards his injured teammate, Bruce sat down in the chair that got left by the bedside. Tony's eyes were lightly shut, and his breathing was stiff and heavy, despite the oxygen mask he still had. Bruce rested his elbows on his knees, finally pressing with the best sincerity and kindness he could muster, "Hey...welcome back..." He then asked, worried, "how are you feeling?"

When Tony's eyes stayed shut, Bruce thought he was out again, but after a moment, Tony groaned, "...mm...jus'...con..fused..."

"What about?" Bruce asked, hoping Tony wasn't having memory loss; but, it was apparent he recognized them, so that was good. Tony slowly opened his eyes; it was taking him a while to respond, but Bruce, Pepper, Steve, and Natasha were patient, realizing he wasn't fully conscious. Nevertheless, the billionaire sighed, almost with frustration, like something was bothering him. "Tony, its okay, take your time," Bruce reassured, seeing his friend struggling emotionally.

While they waited, Natasha came and sat on the arm of Bruce's chair. She glanced over at Steve, who remained standing as Tony finally spoke huskily through the mask. "..Pepper...do you remember..who Yinsen was?..." He never moved his head, but Tony did his best to shift his eyes in Pepper's direction.

Pepper looked taken aback at the unexpected question. "Of course, you said he was the other prisoner with you in Afghanistan," she answered, notifying Steve and Bruce, who had no idea who Yinsen was. Natasha knew though, and she looked confused as Pepper did at why Tony was bringing the subject up.

Tony swallowed nervously, but hazily said, "...I remember...there was this one time they came to check on us...they were getting suspicious of what...Yinsen and I were..truly doing instead of..building a missile..." Bruce exchanged looks with Steve and Natasha, concerned about where this was going. Tony said he was confused, which made the scientist wonder if the injured Avenger was having nightmares or deja vu, but then he looked over at Pepper; she seemed more understanding towards Tony, and Bruce knew that Tony rarely spoke about Afghanistan, so the fact he was bringing it up...there had to be a reason for it. "...I remember, I had my hands on my head...they pulled me aside while they...laid Yinsen's head down on this anvil...there were guns on us..and Raza pulled this...burning coal out of the fire...dropped it in front of Yinsen's face..asked him over and over what we were building...but Yinsen didn't tell him the truth...he knew that coal..would go in his mouth if he didn't...and he still didn't tell them...but then I told them I needed his help..and they stopped..."

The four of them stared at him. "You never told me that," Pepper said in shock and sympathy; it pained her, hearing he was put in such a situation.

"...there's..lots of things...haven't told 'bout that cave..." Tony admitted, and they could hear the hesitance and anguish, but the billionaire spoke with some clarity, "..it's been..ten years and it's all still there...it's still so vivid..like it was yesterday...I even remember how many steps it was to get out of the cave..." He paused to catch a breath as he became short of it. "...wish I could have..saved him; Yinsen...I should have done more for him...he saved my life...Yinsen..he...he was there..when.."

"Tony, you don't have to," Pepper meant to calm him; having heard parts of what happened in Afghanistan. She caressed his hand in both of hers, hoping to give him some peace of mind from those memories, "Its okay, I know."

"...all these hands..were on me...holding me down...and I just..." Steve approached closer to the foot of the bed as Tony started to pant as if he'd gone running. "..I...'m sorry...not finished...jus' need to rest..for a moment..." Tony immediately stopped talking and shut his eyes with a wince; he looked pale as he laid limp and settled his breathing. In the meantime, Pepper pulled his hand towards her mouth and kissed it gently. Ten minutes had almost gone by, and by that time Steve had sat down in a chair behind Bruce and Natasha, by the hospital room's windows. "Pepper?" Tony asked as he blinked.

"I'm still here," Pepper replied warmly, but after several moments of Tony falling quiet and shutting his eyes, she quipped, "Tony?" She knew it was a fight for him to stay awake.

"...re..member...I remember...they..." he groused, cracking his eyes open and zoning out slightly. "..when I woke up...I was jus'..so tired, and it hurt so bad...was still injured...and they came in and told me they wanted me to build..the missile..." Anxiously, Tony stopped for a moment, reminiscing, and grimly added, "...they waterboarded me when I refused..."

"Tony..." Pepper cut in, horrified, but Tony continued rather calmly.

"...remember they covered my head so I couldn't see..where we were going...they forced me to walk out of the cave..." Tony described painfully, "...jus' remember how.._exhausted..._I was, and the sun hurt...and thirsty...out there in the desert..."

"Tony, you're safe," Natasha tried to intervene with words to ease him.

"...'ave point to all this..." the billionaire rasped, before moaning, "..need...'nother break..." Inhaling and exhaling exhaustively, Tony grimaced as he foggily hunted his next words; this break didn't last long, as he said, "...I was with him when he died...he was shot..multiple times..trying to give me..better chance of escape...last thing he said to me was..._'Don't waste your life'_...I don't know if I did..."

"Tony, what are you talking about?" Bruce was struck, feeling hurt at what Tony was saying. "You helped make the Avengers," he stated strongly, making sure Tony heard him.

"...Thanos still won..." Tony returned woundedly, the guilt trapping in his voice, "...when I took that nuke..through the...I saw that fleet..far beyond anything ever seen...I _knew_ this was coming...I had nightmares about it for years...I _saw_ visions..I _saw_ it..." His heartrate mildly increased as mournful tears collected in his eyes, and it spread to Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and Pepper as they felt his pain. And yet, he still didn't know about their further losses...he would be the last one to know.

"Tony, this isn't your fault," Pepper said heavily and sorrowfully, wishing she could make more physical contact for comfort, but she didn't want to hurt him.

".._I tried_..." A forest of brokenness and desolation hauled in Tony's voice, and it made Steve, Natasha, Bruce, and Pepper grimace in harrowing empathy; they exchanged concerned looks, but Pepper's attention remained intently on Tony. "...Pepper, I _tried_, I tried _so_ hard..." The realization was there, carving into them with guilt at remembering how obsessed Tony had gotten in the past; determined to protect Earth from an inevitable threat the Avengers couldn't see aside from Tony. He told them it was 'the A game,' and they didn't listen. It made Steve, Natasha, and Bruce drop their gaze for a moment.

"I know, I know you did," Pepper croaked as her voice saturated with emotion, "I'm sorry."

"Tony, its okay," Bruce concurred, getting up as Tony became overwhelmingly upset. Natasha remained seated, looking phased by Tony's words, but she didn't know what to do; she was speechless as she gawked at her friend sullenly. "Look at me," Bruce said steadily, almost putting a hand on Tony's shoulder, but he stopped himself, knowing there were still bruises, "Tony, its okay."

_"...I failed..."_ Tony murmured with a laborious sigh.

Raising to his feet, Steve walked over to the bedside near Bruce, but away enough, so he didn't block Natasha. "Tony," Steve voiced meaningfully, "you didn't fail. _We_ failed."

* * *

The setting sun cast its golden hour hues across the clear skies; orange, pink, purple, red, and deep blue chasing out from the horizon. The colors reached across the spacious gallery and even glinted through the kitchen of the penthouse. Clint sat on the sofa, anxiously messing around with his arrows while Thor and Rocket opened up the take-out containers of food, and meanwhile, Rhodey was off exploring the premise of the living quarters. The archer didn't exactly have an appetite; well, he did, it just wasn't for food. He preferred Thanos' blood, but that wasn't an option at the moment. The least Clint could do was to shoot stuff to try controlling his temper, but he was asked to check out the penthouse the Avengers were allowed access. It was nice, perhaps the closest thing they could get to something like the Avengers Tower rather than the Compound, but it was a temporary home...Clint _missed_ home.

"Hey, aren't you gonna come eat?" Clint looked over at Rocket as he asked, snapping out of his thoughts. The raccoon was standing in the space between the living room and the kitchen, munching on some fried roll.

Clint shrugged, "Eventually." He eyed the creature curiously, still baffled he was having a conversation with a raccoon from space.

"Well, if you don't eat soon, it'll be all gone," he said while chewing.

"And we have five more people to feed," Thor mentioned, remaining at the table.

"Yeah, get the good stuff before it's gone," Rocket suggested as Clint proceeded to examine his weapons. "I mean, I'd love to play with weapons all day, but who knew Terra had such good food. I might never leave." The Avenger gave Rocket a look, and he realized the aroma of the authentic cuisine was tempting, but nothing felt right anymore. How could they move on, continue life after the snap? The world was in a devastating catch of depression, drowning them. A more sympathetic look crossed Rocket's face and he took a few steps closer to the human in an attempt to be considerate. "He killed your family, didn't he?" Clint shifted his eyes sorrowfully towards Rocket, giving him his answer. "He killed a lot of peoples' families, he killed mine. Not that they were my actual family, they were friends, but...they became my family," the raccoon was honest as his ears tilted back and he dipped his head mournfully. "I know it's not easy, and I'm...I feel...," Rocket sighed gloomily, "There's nothing we can do to change what happened. Believe me, what I wouldn't give to put a few rounds through Thanos, but at least you still have people here. I don't have anyone else. Everyone I care about is dead." Clint's attention held on the raccoon, and his words were singeing at the archer. He felt...bad for Rocket as the raccoon had nothing more to say, so he took another bite from the roll and walked away.

Sulking, Clint let that sink in, but he still didn't budge even as Rhodey emerged from the hall and made his way to the kitchen. While dishing up a plate of food, the rest of their group joined them. Bruce, Pepper, Steve, and Natasha entered the penthouse, bringing whatever few belongings they had with them. At that queue, Clint forced himself to his feet and approached the kitchen as Rhodey welcomed, "Hey, thought we'd be eating without you guys."

Natasha sighed, "Yeah, almost did." The four of them were reasonably quiet, looking worn from exhaustion and worry as they set their bags down. In fact, none of them really acknowledged Rhodey or Clint or Thor, even Pepper, who frequently was very quick on greetings; they depressingly made their way over to the plates.

"How's Tony?" Thor asked, glancing over his shoulder while they searched through the different containers on the counter. The Asgardian had been to see Tony a few times, but he was concerned with everyone's safety. He expressed his grief and anger by helping with clean up from the battle and keeping an eye on the barrier.

"He needs time to heal," Bruce was frank, turning his gaze to Thor before his attention turned back to the selection of food. "But, he was awake and talking for a few minutes," he mumbled hesitantly while scooping out some type of seasoned rice.

Those hopeful words didn't seem to phase the others, but Clint, Rhodey, and Thor became more attentive. "Well, that's good, isn't it?" Clint questioned, standing on the other side of the table while Bruce came to sit down next to Thor. Rhodey stayed standing, having his back leaned against the counter as he ate off his plate.

"To an extent...he was just..." Bruce paused, trying to find the right words, "Tony's been really struggling with consciousness, I don't think he was all there when he was talking to us."

"No, he wasn't," Natasha agreed moderately sad as she, Steve, and Pepper came to sit down at the table. When they did, Clint went over to the counter, being the last one to grab his share of food.

"He was pretty out of it," Steve added sensitively.

"Poor guy may be injured, but I'd consider anyone who survives an attack from Thanos a freakin' miracle," Rocket stated, sitting cross-legged on the corner of the table by Thor. All eyes looked his way, and the raccoon realized he probably didn't have a voice in this conversation. After all, he didn't know the injured human, but that didn't stop him from wondering out loud. "What? It's true, that guy decimates civilizations. He breaks promises, toys with those he finds a threat." He briefly glanced at Thor, gesturing, "Like that guy from Nidavellir."

"Uh..from what?" Clint represented on behalf of the Avengers' confusion as he went across from Bruce, sitting by Nat.

"Where we got his hammer from." Indicating with his head towards Thor, Rocket continued keeping his eyes on the other humans. "I guess Thanos told those people if they'd make him the gauntlet, he'd let them live. After they did though, he killed everyone and left their leader alive to suffer." Thor dropped his gaze, looking ashamed for having failed at protecting Nidavellir while everyone else in the room glared at Rocket wide-eyed. "_Whatever,_ anyway," he waved off, not wanting to go into details, "Thanos kills those he sees as threats or leaves them to suffer. Notice, when we assaulted him on the ground, he just tossed us aside. I mean, he killed half the universe because he thought that was..right, in some twisted way? Not because they were threats. But he had no intention of killing us directly even as we attacked him. Heck, he didn't even have an interest in killing Thor after he impaled him with that axe. So, why deliver a killing blow to your friend and then walk away? I'm not trying to be insensitive, but it _was_ a killing blow; he should be dead. Thanos would've made sure he was dead, so why let him live? Why was _he_ the exception?" Silence stacked high when Rocket finished. Everyone sitting at the table gradually exchanged glances, almost puzzled and in awe. What Rocket said even caused Thor to question the Guardian's logic, and an eerie feeling settled in, sending the hairs along their necks prickling.

"...That...actu-" Bruce stuttered, but was cut off.

"Tony's unbelievably smart," Pepper input sharply. Rocket had no tone which provoked a defensive reaction, but Pepper's voice had a level of agitation in it as she stood by Tony's side (in spirit at the moment). To be honest, she didn't seem upset at Rocket, but perhaps the raccoon's assumption of Thanos purposely trying to eliminate Tony.

"Hey, I didn't mean that to be rude," Rocket countered, hoping to clear up his intentions. He understood Pepper and Tony were partners, which made this difficult for her, but Rocket wanted her to be aware that he wasn't trying to be an asshole. "I'm in the same boat as you; I'm still trying to figure all this out myself."

"Rocket," Thor muttered, turning his attention towards the smaller creature. "You make a fair point, but we'll discuss this later," the Asgardian whispered. Instead, Rocket snorted as the wrong vibes mixed. He lept down from the table and headed towards the hallway mumbling under his breath. There was suddenly some regret reaching into Pepper as she and the others watched the raccoon walk away...he only meant to be insightful and helpful.

"...I'm sure he'll be fine..." Thor supplied, and there was an awkward moment that lingered before he looked at Bruce. "You were saying?"

"Tony was talking okay, but he was slow with his responses and having a hard time focusing," the scientist continued after finishing the food on his plate. "I mean, it's only been six days; it's still pretty early to tell, but he was upset, anxious, and blaming himself. They are reasonable emotions for him to be going through after the trauma he endured, and he seemed well aware of the situation at times. Except, unfortunately, I think Tony's having time gaps or flashbacks; he's confusing certain events and dates, and mixing them up with others. I don't think its too bad, because he had no problem remembering Thanos. There could be other complications we aren't aware of yet, but if I have to be honest, I think he's pretty lucky considering...," Bruce was careful and empathetic as he wandered off, knowing it was difficult for any of them to face the subject of Tony coding. There was some sort of mild intensity that struck, so the scientist didn't continue; the group was quiet before, but small movements stopped and any remaining appetite was lost.

Steve's chin rested against his propped fist. "What exactly did Tony say?" Rhodey quipped, setting his plate aside.

"Um, well..." Bruce looked at Pepper, who seemed to be keeping herself from the conversation. She looked disturbed, but she didn't engage Bruce, she just picked at her food with her fork. "He was talking in pretty...vivid detail about some things that happened to him when he was in Afghanistan." Mentioning that impacted Rhodey as those memories flooded back, especially with the knowledge that Obadiah Stane paid to have Tony killed. When Rhodey's eyes went from Bruce to Pepper to Natasha and then Steve, he could tell they were hit by whatever Tony said. "It's good he remembers things okay, but...he's very devastated. He mentioned something his prison cellmate said that was making him question himself..."

A painful look seeded in their eyes and Rhodey was hesitant to ask, "What kind of things was he talking about?" Nobody answered him and Rhodey crossed his arms, sighing; he feared what demons were haunting Tony. "I was there during the ambush...when Tony was taken," Rhodey said after a stiff, uncomfortable silence carried. It made everybody's attention turn to him, except Pepper's; apparently, a few people didn't know that. "And when we found him in the desert..."

* * *

The sun's rays beat down on Tony as he trudged through the desert; his jacket wrapped around his head, covering dried blood and preventing his face from getting burned by the sweltering heat. He remembered how starved he was and how thirsty he was, walking through the barren sands for days. The exhaustion and pain were becoming unbearable as he lost hope of rescue; a single dot in an empty wilderness, and he was going to die there. Collapsing sounded so sweet, and Tony did a few times onto his knees, watching the sun disappear behind the Earth and leaving the billionaire alone in the eerie night. It made him think of when he first woke up in that cave; bewildered, cold, and in agony in the dark with his chest torn apart and held together by an electromagnet.

The whole experience made him question his life, the life Yinsen told him not to waste. Those three months were excruciating, and every day when he thought he was going to die, Tony was remorseful and regretful of things he did; people he hurt, people he disappointed, stuff he shouldn't have done, better versions of himself he could've been. Tony had wasted so much time, and being in that cave made him question his name and legacy, those that loved him if he had any people that truly loved and cared about him. It was as Yinsen said: Tony was a man who had everything, but nothing. The value and price of what life really was and meant went up; he took care of whatever burdens could be fixed, he worked up to being a better human being, to help the world with his technology. Then the Avengers happened, and the genius had this privileged responsibility to take care of this team of beautiful people. People who had been broken, but aimed to be better and use their remarkable skills to aid the world, despite their sinful pasts...somehow he managed to break that too. Tony didn't know what to do. He was so quenched, his mouth so dry...Hazy moments flashed in his mind, there was so much red; blood, the desert, _Titan_.

Tony felt the raw power as he found himself under Thanos, blocking his attack. The fear corrupted and dread befell him as the mad titan continued to advance on him; it was gruesomely fathomed...there was no going back. He made a choice and could see death coming for him as Thanos continued killing him. Tony unsheathed the sword, knowing it was his last bet, but Thanos saw the move coming and turned the blade on the Avenger. Tony _gasped_ in shock, startled at feeling the blade rip through him, and his life flashed before his eyes. His breath heaved with wheezes as he held his hand around the blade. All that branded his thoughts were Pepper, and those Tony cared about back on Earth, while he was here bleeding out and dying. At that moment, he regretted not making that call to Steve; he regretted not trying harder to save his teammates. Tony sat there, wishing he could undo everything and make amends and see Pepper, but it was over. One wrong move and it was over. Thanos held the gauntlet out towards Tony, about to execute the finishing blow. _I hope they remember you._ Those words haunted him, there were a lot of things Thanos said that haunted him...Tony was then thrown into a loop, reliving the horrid, sharp pain of the sword piercing and breaking flesh and bone. There was blood and suffering, and he _jolted_.

* * *

Steve was sitting in the room, by the hospital bed reading when Tony violently lurched. Clint, who was in the lounging area, immediately shifted his eyes to Tony as Steve did in alarm as the billionaire's heart raced. The heart monitor started beeping, forcing both Avengers to their feet as Tony's eyes merely parted open; he didn't lift his head, but he frantically patted the left side of his abdomen, where the wound was located. Tony's breaths were heavy, painful, and fearful, and Steve could see the terror swimming in his dull eyes as he reached his friend's side. "Tony," Steve murmured with gentleness and pity, "Tony, don't touch it." With a comforting gesture, Steve lightly grabbed Tony's wrist, pulling his hand away from the wound that laid under the sheets. "It's okay," the soldier was kind, resting a hand on Tony's arm briefly as the billionaire took deep, raspy breaths, "Tony, it's going to be okay." Steve exchanged a disheartening look with Clint who was on the other side of Tony. Concern captured them at Tony's cold and clammy appearance as the injured Avenger slightly trembled while gawking up at the ceiling.

Clint meant to say something to help Tony, it was hard seeing him like this; Tony was a very lively, active person, but having him cut down like this was assaulting to the Avengers. Thinking about it made the words fumble in his mouth and came out empty-handed, knowing there wasn't much to say; nothing could erase what happened. He watched Tony's breathing mellow out; it was still brisk and rapid, but calmer. A few moments passed, in which Tony kept his eyes shut most of the time, but now and then he'd blink, and after he swallowed, Tony groused with an irritated sigh, "...hurts..."

Lifting his head from leaning against the wall, Clint eyed Tony as the genius cracked open his eyes. "You're awake," Clint said, not knowing how conscious Tony was. The archer and Steve were both still standing, and Clint walked up to Tony's side.

Tony swallowed painfully and gripped the sheets with a wince. "I'll see if.." Steve trailed off, grabbing Tony's hand when he tried reaching for the wound again. "Friday, can you see if the doctors can give him something?" The soldier looked up for a second, not knowing where Friday was at the moment. "Tony," Steve mumbled when Tony squinted his eyes shut and drew in an edgy breath. Exchanging a worried look with Clint, the Captain lightly prodded Tony's bicep with the back of his hand. "Hey, can you stay awake for a moment?" When Tony opened his eyes, Steve grimaced at the shattered look in his friend's irises, as if his soul had been broken.

"...Steve.." Tony breathed grueling, "..he's in my head..."

The tone in Tony's voice made Steve and Clint freeze, in fact, it _frightened_ Steve. The billionaire was cold and desperate like he'd been tortured. "...Metaphorically or literally?" Steve asked with a scowl, not knowing how to respond as cold sweat clung to Tony and his respirations became heavier.

"..I don't know..." the downed Avenger whined with uncertainty as panic dawned on him. "...can't...he's there..." Tony moaned in misery, trying to stay calm, but he was failing. "...can't take this..."

"Tony, look at me," Steve urged when his friend's stress level increased in coordination with his heartbeat. The thought of Thanos taunted all of them, but after their discussions and facing the reality of Thanos' power, Steve wondered if Thanos could invade someone's mind...Loki invaded Clint's. Then there was what Rocket said, about leaving the greatest threats dead or suffering. "Look at me, he's not here," the Captain confirmed, looking straight at Tony to be sure he was hearing him, but there was still fear. Steve glanced at Clint, who was looking anxious as Tony continued to grow distressed. Tony inhaled and exhaled sharp, agitated breaths. "I don'..." Steve started to empathize with his teammates fear, but he didn't know what to do. The Golden Avenger kept quiet to hide it, but was without a doubt in physical, mental, and emotional agony.

When Tony's doctor stepped into the room, Clint and Steve retreated to the lounging area. Quickly, Steve pulled out his phone and sent a message to their group chat: _Bruce, you need to come here, Tony's awake._ As he put the phone back in his pocket, he watched a nurse administer something into Tony's IV while Ada asked Tony a few questions. They were too far away to hear their quiet talk, but after a few moments Tony looked far less in pain then he did before. After he calmed down, Ada managed to get him sitting up slightly as they adjusted the bed. She handed him a cup of water, which he shakily took with his hands after he pulled down the oxygen mask. When he was settled, the doctor and the nurse ask him one last thing, but he merely gestured to Steve and Clint, which sent them off and left the three Avengers alone. "Tony...hey," Steve greeted peacefully, returning to his side. Tony didn't reply, instead, he gave Steve an acknowledging look. The super soldier was sympathetic, watching Tony struggle with deep breaths as he rested the cup of water in his lap. "How are you?" Steve questioned worriedly. Tony still looked pale and exhausted, and he gazed down at the water quite dazed before he weakly lifted the cup to his lips. "Tony?" Steve paused from asking any more, not wanting to bring up past events when Tony looked to be reliving them.

"Do you remember much from the last couple days?" Clint gingerly asked after a few moments, trying not to overwhelm Tony; this was the most he'd been awake since the surgery, and he looked like his senses were still reviving.

The Avenger heard Clint's question, but he still didn't answer; he was contemplating glumly. Observing Tony as he held the cup of water, Clint saw a shallowly furrowed brow cross his face. They were patient as Tony shut his eyes for a moment, straining himself to remember. After opening his eyes, Tony glared at his hand as he moved it, half closing it and opening it before feeling his ring finger that had no ring. "You remember the jet, don't you?" Steve asked as Tony mulled.

"...some of it..." Tony finally said, his voice raw and worn. "..a lot of it..is..kinda blurry..hazy.."

"Pepper has the rings," Steve reassured, sitting down in the chair beside the bed as Tony fixed the mask back on with a slight groan, "they had to take it off before the surgery." The billionaire continued to hold the cup, but leaned back to rest for a moment with a fatigued sigh.

"Are you okay?" Clint quipped with concern when Tony achingly placed a hand on the wound again.

"...not really..." Tony was honest, closing his eyes for a brief moment before opening them and saying "..thank you...for being here.." Those words were...shocking and took Clint aback when Tony was sincere.

Honestly, the archer didn't know how to respond, but Steve replied genuinely, "Of course."

"..I jus.." The billionaire stopped for a moment, thinking of the correct words to say. He meant to say he didn't deserve to have them there, which he truly thought he didn't, but that'd make them think he was trying to gather sympathy. Good news; he didn't need anymore whilst laying in a hospital bed with his abdomen sliced through from a sword. "...want to..apologize..should've done more to help you...'m sorry.."

Clint stared at Tony with an ambivalent look; he never expected to hear that from Tony, but he was stunned at the Ironman's politeness as guilt clearly riddled him. "If you had, you would've ended up in the Raft too, and who'd be left to protect the world?" Clint stated profoundly, although there was a part of Clint that stung deep down from what Tony did. However, this response seemed to confuse Tony, and Hawkeye knew he wasn't processing information at his normal speed.

Looking from Clint to Tony, Steve attempted to lay out the words more simply. "I think Clint's saying if you hadn't been in New York when the attack happened, things could've ended up a lot worse."

"..that's no excuse.." Tony retorted, waiting for Clint to snap at him, but he didn't.

"Tony, its...its okay, we can let it go," Clint said calmly, folding his arms over his chest. "I'm not gonna lie and say it didn't hurt being sent to the Raft, but we've got bigger problems now then our past and I can't be selfish while you're laying here like this." Seeing Clint gesture to Tony's wound, the genius considered what the archer conveyed. He continued with a thoughtful and serious tone to be sure Tony knew the Avenger promised this, "Alright? We have to put it behind us, for Earth's sake. Do you understand? I forgive you."

"...still doesn't make me feel better, though..." Tony reciprocated while adjusting the bed to lean back further, using the holographic buttons on the side of it

"But does it help?" Steve asked.

"..yes.." Tony murmured, sounding more at ease and content. "..thank you.." The Captain gave a meaningful nod to Tony before he leaned back in the chair.

"You know, when I told you to call if you ever needed us, I meant it," the soldier complied in a friendly manner as Clint went to grab a chair for himself.

"..tried to...damn ship showed up, though.." Tony meant to banter, but instead, the memory brought frowns.

"We thought you were dead," Steve admitted somberly as Clint sat down in the chair he brought over. "The attack and you missing were all over the news." They watched Tony as his movement became stiff with a rough sigh; memories seemed to be flooding back, and the billionaire stayed quiet. During this moment, footsteps were heard entering the room. Steve and Clint looked towards the doorway, seeing Rhodey and Bruce walk in.

"Hey," Rhodey said benevolently, rounding the bed to stand next to Clint while Bruce came to the bedside beside Steve.

"..hey.." Tony croaked, eyeing his friend and feeling somewhat happy to see them...After all, he thought he'd never see them again, and they thought they'd never see Tony again. He should've died alone on Titan, but somehow he was here.

"It's good to see you're awake," the colonel muttered, looking relieved that Tony was lucid. Off to the side, Bruce was gazing at Tony as if he was looking at a ghost. It wasn't unusual when Tony had looked lifeless for days, but what Rocket said about exceptions...that wasn't helping either. In fact, it made Bruce curious about Tony being singled out as an exception if Rocket was accurate with his theory. "How are you feeling?" Rhodey questioned, breaking the scientist's train of thought.

Groggily, Tony moaned, "...hurts everywhere...kinda disoriented...hard to breathe..."

Bruce kept a careful eye on Tony as he pulled down the mask. "You lost a lot of blood, a dangerous amount," Bruce gently affirmed as Tony sipped from the water, "it'll probably be some time before you fully recover from that." He noticed some red on the rim of the cup Tony was drinking out of and narrowed his eyes. "Tony?"

The downed Avenger didn't say anything; he lightly grimaced while staring into the cup. "..there's still...I can still taste the blood..." Tony uttered under his breath with a soulless stature pressing him. His eyes were lost and his breathing shallowed out as he swallowed. Lowly, Bruce shifted his eyes to Rhodey as the colonel merely glared at him. There was a stillness as the desperation to help Tony was buried by reality.

"Do you want something else to wash it out?" Bruce suggested, trying to distract his friend from the obvious. It may have been hidden in layers, but Bruce could clearly see that Tony was traumatized. "Maybe some broth? You haven't had anything to eat in days," he noted, knowing the billionaire was probably starving; he hadn't had anything to eat since New York, Bruce guessed. Calculating the days correctly, that was almost nine days ago.

Tony still watched the water ripple in the cup with a depressed and empty persona. "..I don't know..." He mumbled, handing the cup off to Clint. The archer took it and put it on the table beside the bed. "...my stomach really hurts..." The urge was screaming and mauling at the scientist and every other hero that stood in that room, crying out to do something for their friend. It was painful knowing there was nothing more they could do for him. All they could do was be at his side while he recovered, and that was going to be weeks, maybe months before he got his full strength back. But the injury that was on his soul...how long would that take to stitch up?

"Why don't you try? You don't have to drink it if you don't want it," Steve encouraged as Bruce's heartache spread around the room.

"..sure..." Tony grumbled tiredly, laying back down quite harshly, almost like he miscoordinated how far to lean back and collapsed a bit. He groaned with exhaustion and pain as he pulled the mask back on. Tony's hand lightly trembled as he laid it back down at his side. Bruce couldn't help but think about the jet when they laid Tony down and he became dead weight; the memory of blood coating Bruce's hands as he tried saving his friend's life. It was a deep red, deep enough that it'd never wash from Bruce's mind as he watched Tony dying. He remembered how faint his pulse and breathing was as the blood pooled along his abdomen and dripped to the floor. The fact that Tony survived...Bruce didn't know if it was God's will or fate or coincidence, but it was without question a miracle. "How long has it been?" The billionaire's voice cut in, and Bruce blinked dully, rather traumatized himself.

"About nine days since New York was attacked and eight days since we rushed you into surgery," Rhodey responded, placing his hands in his pockets.

"You were in a small coma for the first four," Bruce told as amiable as possible, hoping to keep Tony's reaction mellow, but he didn't seem phased by this news. He looked like he was starting to fade out again, but his eyes remained open and on Bruce as he spoke. "You've been in and out of consciousness for the last four." Taking a few steps closer in a comforting manner, Bruce revealed, "This is the most you've been awake and talking since then. You were awake a few other times, but not for very long. Do you remember any of that?" There was a lot Bruce needed to ask, the entire team had bowls of questions, but Bruce understood it might be awhile before they got the full story. Tony was still unnervingly stressed and weak, and Bruce knew pressuring his friend would be a bad call.

After thinking for a long moment, Tony complied falteringly, "...not a lot of it..." Bruce wondered if Tony was lying or not in case the downed Avenger didn't want the topic of Afghanistan brought up again. However, Bruce realized the damage done and knew it might take his friend some time to recover from whatever time gaps he was having. At least he was remembering the important things.

"Tony...you really gave us a scare," Bruce was serious, unable to avoid expressing his emotion and worry after being on the brink, almost losing one of his best friends. "We've been worried _sick_ for you." The heavy sorrow was appearing on their faces as Bruce's voice was calm and touching, but full of mourning and scarred after witnessing such tragedy. "I'm glad to at least see you're awake and talking some..." He trailed off when Tony quickly started to go limp, and his eyes grew droopy, dropping to slits. "Tony?" Bruce called, surprised at how fast Tony went from conscious to barely responsive. It made Bruce nervous, and Steve, Rhodey, and Clint seemed to notice it also. Tony didn't speak, but he moaned softly, still holding his wound. "Are you just tired or is something wrong?"

"...told...don' feel good..." Tony divulged feebly. He tried keeping his eyes open, but they could tell it was hard for him not to close them. With Tony struggling to stay awake, it made Steve wonder if he was somewhat afraid to sleep because of nightmares. The Avenger was prone to PTSD, and his nightmares could get bad; Steve knew that from personal experience being around Tony. Thoughts crept like a virus to Steve's brain, when Tony told him Thanos was in his head. Was that a nightmare or was that real? Within the last minute, at the rate Tony deteriorated from awake and talking to hardly conscious, Steve hoped Thanos wouldn't be there this time.

"We'll let you get some rest," Bruce said, exchanging glances with the others. The supple notion eased Tony into shutting his eyes. "Do you want me to get Pepper?" The scientist asked, but he was unsure if Tony heard him. A few seconds passed before Tony gave an _mhm_ without moving or opening his eyes. "Okay, I'll get her." As Bruce backed up, Steve got to his feet, knowing it was right to consult his team about what Tony said about Thanos. Rhodey took the Captain's chair as he followed Bruce, stopping him before the door by putting a hand on his shoulder. Steve whispered to Bruce shortly and privately, and they both gleamed at Tony with concern.

Eyeing Tony for a moment, they went for the door, but before they could leave Tony grimly asked, "..Bruce...is Vision gone?.."

Bruce exchanged a looked with Steve, not knowing what to say. "...Yes, Thanos killed him," Bruce answered sullenly, exchanging mournful looks with Clint and Rhodey.

Tony fell quiet for a moment, processing this information. "Who else?" Squinting his eyes shut, and dipping his head in frustration, Bruce mouthed _shit_ silently. He truly didn't want to break the news to Tony, not now.

"Wanda, and Sam," Rhodey said hesitantly, leaving out Bucky due to unknowing how Tony would react to that. Right now, it wasn't in Tony's favor to say something regrettable.

About a minute went by, and Rhodey anxiously rubbed his chin. "...shit...," Tony finally croaked emotionally, especially for Wanda. She was just a kid, like Peter. "...fucking..shit..." As Tony became increasingly upset, Steve and Bruce exited the room, leaving him to mourn.

* * *

**to be continued...**


	8. The Long Night

**ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT || REWRITE IS BEING POSTED AT DEAR MR FANTASY**

**warning **for possible intense, graphic descriptions

* * *

**A Painful Reunion**

8 of ?

The Long Night

* * *

**EIGHT DAYS PRIOR**

_..._

_..._

_"According to military officials, several bogies were identified over different regions of the world prior to the tragedy that occurred. These locations were New York, Scotland, and Wakanda."_

_..._

_"Reports of people vanishing have been echoing across the world. There is footage of people turning to ash, whether old, young, middle class, low class, male or female, ethnicity. It is horrifying and panic has struck across the globe."_

_..._

_"Aircrafts are dropping from the sky, general accidents and multiple accidents are occurring on the streets."_

_..._

_"There is no current understanding as to why this is happening. People are scared."_

_..._

_"At this point, its suggested that the attack on New York correlates to these disappearances."_

_..._

_"The question is where are the Avengers? Despite Tony Stark missing during the attack, it was expected to hear some reassurance from the Avengers Compound or Stark Industries. That isn't so, the Compound is reported abandoned and Pepper Potts is missing as well."_

_..._

_"Any word would help, we need the Avengers."_

_..._

_"How do we know they didn't cause this mess? You really think they can fix it?"_

_..._

_"Earth needs help, the Avengers are Earth's best defense. At this point, political debates don't matter, we could use Captain America. We could use Natasha Romanoff, Sam Wilson, Wanda Maximoff...they're at least more noble than the street criminals acting like its the purge."_

_..._

_"We need help. We need to know what's going on."_

...

...

**SIX DAYS PRIOR**

_"It's an unfortunate and complicated situation to explain," Steve explained the best he could to the room of reporters, civilians, and government officials. The events that took place, their losses, their injured, it was still bleeding fresh in his mind. It was shocking and difficult to talk about, but the world was begging them. "The nature of this tragedy, from our intelligence, Asgardian intelligence, and other foreign intelligence, is the fault of an alien tyrant called Thanos. He is not a superior being, he is not a God, but he is highly dangerous and acquired the ability, through certain items, to cause all this destruction and death." The room would quiet down to hear what Captain America had to say, standing there in his uniform looking worn and weathered, but the moment he paused, the crowd was nipping at him like vultures._

_"How is that possible?" Reporters asked, attempting to be civil, but rushing to have their questions answered. "How are you going to fix this?" Was this what Tony Stark and Pepper Potts dealt with on a daily basis? "Millions of people are dead!"_

_Being straight to the point, although sympathetic, Steve answered, "This is not easy to process, trust me I know, but we're still investigating the situation and still awaiting answers." To his right was Pepper and to his left was Rhodey. They stood at three podiums, being the world's voice. It was stressful, the Avengers were in pain and mourning, but so was Earth, so they had to do this or else nobody would. Matters didn't get any better having to pull Pepper away from Tony. Every minute that dragged by, they wondered if he was still alive or had at least awaken, but there was no call to confirm it._

_"Why should we trust you after helping James Barnes? You're an accessory," A government official retorted, which made the soldier's tongue tie in a knot._

_"It's been confirmed that James Barnes was hijacked by Hydra," Rhodey responded, defending Steve, "All actions taken by him were influenced by Hydra. This is no excuse, but Barnes has been detained and is no longer a threat to society." After what happened, people were still looking for scapegoats and somebody to point at. It was disgusting, Rhodey hated that his friends were being called criminals. He knew the problems going on between Tony and Steve, and Rhodey wasn't fond of Tony's parents being killed by Bucky, but deep down he knew Tony didn't like Steve, Natasha, Clint, or Wanda being called criminals._

_"I don't care, that guy's a murderer," a civilian viciously shouted._

_The noise and the flashes of light were becoming overwhelming, it was worsening Steve's headache. He was a very calm person that knew how to handle situations, but he could feel the agitation brewing. "For your information, Barnes aided in the defense of this Earth from the foreign subjects which attacked; as well as Wanda Maximoff, Sam Wilson, Vision, and Natasha Romanoff. Avengers lost their lives trying to protect this world," Steve couldn't stop himself from snapping. It most likely wouldn't help his case, but he didn't deserve this treatment, none of them did. Steve lost his best friend from childhood, he died fighting for Earth's freedom; they all did._

_"Where is he now?" They pressed, which was incredibly irritating. Steve wondered if Bruce, Natasha, and Clint were watching this. "What about you?"_

_"In discussion with the world leaders, Steve Rogers and Avengers that were viewed as fugitives have been pardoned," Pepper said, "They are the best qualified to help with the aftermath of this situation."_

_"That's not fair!" Another civilian fretted._

_Ignoring the stray comments, Pepper changed the subject, on nerve herself. She wanted in and out as fast as possible, she needed to get back to Tony. "Stark Industries, in its sisterhood with the Avengers, will be working closely with the military and government until the system is resituation and civilians around the world have been taken care of," the CEO stated._

_"Where's Tony Stark?" A reporter asked._

_The three of them fell quiet, Pepper could feel herself almost choking on oncoming tears. "From our sources, Tony Stark was taken and engaged with the attackers on alien soil, where he was seriously wounded," Steve informed for Pepper, and the moment he did so the room shut up hearing the news. There was silence as Steve continued dolefully, "Stark has since been found, he is with the Avengers and his condition is critical. Any further information about Stark's whereabouts or the details on this event will remain confidential." As he finished, the crowd uproared from that statement._

**NOW**

Even after eight days, Steve was trying to understand what happened. New York attacked; Tony Stark missing; Infinity Stones; alien army; Thanos; Vision gone; Sam gone; Wanda gone; Bucky gone; Tony in ICU. Bucky was gone. He was there in the schoolyard with Steve, he was there when his parents died, he had Steve's back, they grew up together, joined the army. Steve should've done something when Bucky went missing, he should've...The super soldier huffed heavily in frustration...he couldn't change anything; he desperately wished he could. Bucky used as a weapon and there...there was nothing left of him; no body, no... _"Steve!"_

The call of his name broke Steve's train of thought, realizing Natasha called for him several times. The intense look on his face quickly recoiled into a softer expression as he wore his emotions. Steve's footsteps were hard hitting the ground as he speedily jogged, but he transitioned into a walk and then a stop. Squinting at the bright sun, Steve glanced over his shoulder at Natasha who was catching up to him. Placing his hands on his hips, Steve breathed heavily through the intense humidity, trying to recover his breath from the run. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest and he paced lightly as Natasha halted beside him, panting as he was. "You said you would jog _with_ me, I'm no super soldier." Dropping his gaze to the gravel, Steve meant to apologize, but he glared off into the jungle looking bothered and distracted. "Are you okay?" Natasha questioned, noticing the Avenger's behavior.

"I.." Steve had his hands on his hips, toeing at the ground as he pivoted towards the river they were running along. It was the same waterway that led to the waterfalls while the city sat far on the other side. "..I'm not sure what we're doing," Steve finished between his heavy breaths.

"Well, we're some of the few people in the world who are exceptional at acting like we know what's going on, but don't," Natasha supported, standing there sympathetically.

"My head is just..spinning and it's not stopping." Anxiously, Steve balled his hand into a fist, but released it as he calmed down and quit pacing. "My head is jumping through these past years, the good and the bad, but then I think of Bucky. I think of the hurt I caused Tony, and his father and his mother, but I couldn't leave Bucky alone..." Natasha paused, seeing the conflict and confusion in Steve's stature. There were times when they briefly talked about Tony's parents, especially when they first found how Hydra assassinated them; should they tell Tony or shouldn't they? It was a deep blow, thinking Howard and Maria Stark died by an accident for over twenty years, but to find out Hydra was behind their deaths. How could they even sit down with Tony and begin telling him this truth; the billionaire would be obsessed with getting answers and there would be pain and guilt. They knew Tony and they knew it'd eat him alive knowing his parents' killers were out there under their feet. Neither of them were prepared to find out Bucky's hands were the ones sent to do the dirty work...and it made everything worse. That impaled Tony deeper than the sword and their friendship was broken.

It emotionally injured all of them. Not even Natasha fully understood the rationalization, but she understood Steve and Bucky grew up together fighting side by side. She understood that Tony was blinded by rage, but even as Ross came for her after helping Steve and Bucky escape, Tony gave the Avenger a chance to slip out. There were other variables that treaded the assassin's mind. "Imagining what you and Bucky went through...all those years ago, I understand why you went after him. But he did shoot me, he shot you twice, he almost killed Fury, Stark was forced to watch his parents' murder," Nat began reasonably, trying to keep open minded for Steve as a friend, but she wasn't going to lie about how she felt about Bucky. "I can't honestly say I'm okay with that."

"Neither can I, but I wanted to save the Bucky I once knew. I had to try..." Steve murmured dismally, remembering Bucky falling from the train into the mountain crevice. He dissolved into the white snow, and he dissolved into ash. "He's gone...It's just, it's not right. I feel like his death is repeating itself. I grew up with him, he stuck with me through thick and thin; I couldn't leave him in Hydra's hands."

Natasha could see Steve's stress building up, knowing he was torn over Bucky's death. However, he seemed torn over Tony as well, trying to create a solid case for why he did what he did. "I know...It worked, but it also cost a lot doing that," Natasha said sincerely, adding, "When Stark is well enough, you need to sit down and explain this to him like you are to me."

"He was upset and remorseful about what happened," the Captain replied, referring Natasha to what Tony told Steve and Clint earlier.

"Yeah, about you guys going to the Raft, not Bucky," she stated as Steve shifted restlessly on his feet while lowering his hands off his hips, "From his view, you picked Bucky over him after both of you found out Hydra had Bucky kill his parents." There was a deep, agonizing hurt in Steve's eyes as he considered what Natasha said. She wanted to help Steve and at this point, at least the one thing she could think of was repairing their relationship with Tony.

Steve didn't keep eye-contact with Natasha as he uttered under his breath, "Bucky's gone, he shouldn't have too much to worry about."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry it had to be Bucky," she comforted, holding a sorrowful gaze on the super soldier. Concern clouded her eyes and Steve gazed at her as she sighed heavily, continuing, "I truly am. None of these deaths are easy. It could have been any of us, but we're still here. But, Steve, listen; Tony's been stabbed. He's crucially wounded in the ICU and on medical narcotics; he probably won't remember much of what he's said, he could have brain damage."

"Don't say that!" Steve retorted strongly with a scowl, which took Natasha by surprise.

"I hate saying it as much as you hate hearing it, but it's true. Plus, a lot of what Tony has said is motivated by him almost dying. I'm not saying Tony didn't mean what he said, I believe he wholeheartedly was honest, but this subject of personal matters will most likely resurface. You need to speak to him before that happens. We're all in a lot of pain, but its smart to take care of the conflicts in the home first." Natasha wasn't happy with what she said either, but she was trying to make a point. They needed to sit down with Tony and talk it out, and it was better to do it sooner than later. "Do you get what I'm saying?"

"Yeah," the Captain breathed timidly, but agreeing.

"I hate that Sam, Wanda, and Vision lost their lives. I hate that all these people died. I hate that Thanos left Tony in his condition," Natasha admitted with a sigh, struggling to get the words out. Standing there for a moment, Steve acknowledged Natasha's empathetic look and he understood this was painstaking for her too. "It's all so surreal. Trust me, you aren't the only one going through these emotions."

There was a long moment as Steve calmed himself. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap," he apologized.

"Don't be," Natasha assured.

Gleaming out across the water, Steve took a few steps from Natasha to the rocky shore. "It irritates me that the press is having a field day. We're doing what we can to help and trying to give answers, but they're still going at our throats about things that happened and why we shouldn't be given leeway," he murmured before leaning down to grab a small rock and tossed it into the water. "And it doesn't help that they're trying to find Tony's location."

"They also don't know we're awaiting answers from Tony," Natasha noted, walking towards Steve where she found a flat rock to stand on, off to his side.

"I don't know how soon that'll be," Steve mentioned, "He's pretty shaken."

"Can you blame him?" The assassin responded, "Neither of us has been taken away from Earth. Bruce could probably relate more to that."

The two of them exchanged a look; finding yourself on another planet was a whole other level of experience. Experience neither of them could hope to understand. "Hopefully he'll get through it," Steve said with a mere nod as he held another stone in his hand.

"Bruce or Tony?" She quipped, watching the second stone hit the water's surface.

"Both of them," the soldier answered, observing the ripples the stone created, "But we're all here for each other, right?"

"Of course," Natasha was thorough and meaningful, gazing at her friend as he continued staring at the water that existed under the evening sun, "I mean, you told Ross that Tony was Earth's best defender and Pepper told us that Tony kept that flip phone with him. Obviously, the care is still there." Those compassionate words seemed to relax Steve, and after several long moments, Natasha asked, "Was there anything else bothering you?"

"Not at the moment, no," Steve said, returning her gaze. "Thank you, Natasha."

"You don't need to thank me, this is what we do," she affirmed, before asking, "So, we going to finish our run?"

"Give me a few more minutes," he complied.

"It's beautiful isn't it?" Natasha inquired, absorbing the view as they stood under the jungle's canopy with rays of sunlight peeking through where it touched the water and streamed past the city.

* * *

Water. It was _so_ refreshing, especially when cold. Hot water was nice too, in the winter, but lukewarm water...that wasn't very pleasant. When Tony was given water for the first time since he left Earth, it was lukewarm. Normally he would notice, but he didn't care. The engineer couldn't remember the last time he was that thirsty, maybe in the desert, but even then...wandering in the desert only extended a few days versus laying immobile in the hospital for eight days, nine since he boarded that ship. Assuming the IVs were replenishing a lot of the fluid while he was unconscious, it didn't veer away the dry itchiness of Tony's throat. Nine days, nine days without water. Ada told him to drink it slowly, to which he listened, not favoring the idea of getting sick. The water felt good to drink, though, after having his mouth wither dry with his blood; that was all he could taste for days, whenever he was conscious enough to notice it. It was starting to wash away, which was making Tony's rest all the better, despite the anguishing pain he was in. Weakness aligned with his body; he could feel it creeping like a shadow.

The painkillers the doctors gave Tony helped with the worst of it, but the dull agony never walked away; the gnawing pain seeped through the wound. Tony could feel the stiffness of the bruises on his chest and across his body; it mixed with the pain that came with breathing. Using an injured lung and broken ribs with each respiration, it hurt and the need to cough clawed its way up Tony's throat at the unpleasant musky feeling in his lungs; it wasn't right. Then there was fatigue, Tony remembered that in the cave and after the shrapnel was removed; this horrible feeling of weakness, where a single effort like moving or lifting an arm left Tony panting and exhausted. Tony thought it was bad then, but the Avenger couldn't argue that the here and now was far worse. A mere moment like drinking water was excruciating and the bruises felt heavy as if debris was sitting on his entire body. Debris like the fragments of moon that crushed him against the crust of Titan.

Dismay shot through Tony, the terror rushed through his veins with the adrenaline; the shock of seeing Thanos grab that moon. The mass and tons of rock plummeting towards Strange, Peter, the Guardians, and him, it was disastrous and every alarm in the armor was sounding. Tony wasn't sure if he'd make it out of that one; if anyone would survive the doom coming at them. He tried, but the astroids roared with fire and hit at frightening speed; Tony felt the impact and he wanted to scream in horror as it trapped him, but the air left his lungs and it all went dark. The Avenger was still for a long moment before he snapped awake and gasped for air, drinking it in with panicked coughs. Pinned beneath the broken moon, Tony yelled in agony and frustration as the weight of it compressed against his body and he could hardly breathe; the armor barely saved his life. Frantically, he shot through the debris with his repulsors until he breached the surface and found the red daylight...

Tony hazily blinked as a cough forced its way from the billionaire's lungs, stinging his chest with white fire. Wincing, he roughly coughed several more times. "Stark? Are you okay?" Blurriness took hold of Tony's vision for a moment as the coughing brought involuntary tears to his eyes; he saw Clint sitting towards the back of the room. He merely nodded, letting the archer know he was fine while holding the oxygen mask in place and inhaling a sharp breath. That wasn't entirely true considering the ache that lingered in Tony's lungs as the coughing continued. They went from frail to deep and harsh, searing his throat. An unpleasant, acute pain in his stomach shifted the Avenger's attention to the door. Pepper had been by his side for a few hours, but stepped out for a quick moment. She wasn't reemerging, so Tony motioned weakly with his finger for Clint to come over to him.

Hawkeye did so, and when he reached the bedside Tony mumbled something he didn't understand. Shakily, Tony pulled down the mask, gradually wheezing after catching a break from the coughing episode. "..bi...C'l...in..." Stuttering hushly, Tony looked faint as he slightly gestured to something as he began coughing again. Clint looked off to the bedside table and grabbed a metal tray, giving it to Tony; the intensity of the next cough had Tony throw up blood, just blood.

Clint, in alarm, placed a hand on Tony's back and expressed a fearful, "Whoa." Tony, for now, stopped coughing and instead panted as Clint gawked at the blood in the tray. "Stark...okay, ju-"

"Clint?" The archer glanced at Pepper as she entered the room. "What's wrong?" She asked, looking troubled while rushing to Tony's side.

"He..threw up some blood," Clint told, still shocked and holding onto Tony. The billionaire shallowly wheezed while holding his abdomen, the obvious coughing not doing any favors to the incisions. Sharp pain caressed the wound; and his lungs, and his ribs, Tony could even feel it in his back.

"Did you have anything?" Pepper gently yet urgently asked Tony.

"All he's had is water," Clint answered for his friend, who looked bone white and was still processing what just happened. "He needs hi-" Tony didn't even heave, but he spit more blood into the tray. "Shit," the archer tried to stay calm.

"Tony," Pepper gasped, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder as he started coughing again.

"Pepper, get his doctor, he needs to stop, something could've ripped," Clint continued anxiously, and as she left the room, his attention returned to the ill Avenger. "Tony..we're going to figure this out." Wincing, Tony painfully coughed a few more times before taking deep breaths and exhaustively laying back down. Removing the tray, Clint observed Tony with a heavy heart, scared; he wasn't moving and misery rendered him.

* * *

"What was it that Tony said to Steve?" Thor asked as he walked with Bruce and Rocket down Wakanda's airbase. The section they were in was sided by buildings, which luckily blocked the brutal sun as the Quinjet and the Milano sat side by side in the distance. Upon finding Thor, Bruce began explaining the concerns Captain America provided.

At first, Bruce was confused at the information Steve gave him, but knowing the power of the infinity stones, Bruce grew worried himself. "He's in my head; that's what Steve told me," the scientist quoted, gaiting leisurely beside Thor while Rocket flanked the Asgardian's other side. "He asked Tony if he meant that metaphorically or literally. Steve said Tony didn't know, but he said Thanos was there." It made Bruce worry even further considering the way Tony said it, according to Steve.

"It could just be from the trauma; nightmares and such or he's hallucinating," Rocket mumbled, briefly gazing up from messing around with a device in his hands.

"No, it's definitely possible to control somebody using the mind stone; Loki did it using the scepter," Thor answered, unfortunately, which unnerved Bruce as Thor continued in gruesome detail, "Thanos could make somebody mentally and physically suffer, he wouldn't even have to be physically here to do it. He could keep them unconscious or conscious while controlling their actions unwillingly. He could take possession of somebody, he could be in tune with all their senses; sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell."

The three of them came to a halt as Bruce glared at Thor as he finished his sentence, naming off the five senses with his fingers. Rocket's face fell in consternation, turning his attention to Thor as he heard what the cruelty the mind stone could lead to. "So...he could torture anyone," Rocket said grimly and sympathetically, "He could be torturing Tony, like he said."

"If Thanos so chose," Thor answered, trying to argue against the idea of Thanos toying with his friend. "But it depends on if he has the interest or not. Thanos has no reason to mess around with Tony unless it was for the sadistic pleasure of it." Even Thor himself cringed while saying sadistic pleasure.

"Is there a way to be sure?" Bruce nearly pled as he felt his phone vibrate in his back pocket, but he ignored it, "I think it'd give Tony some peace of mind or at least make him less tense."

"You believe what he said about Thanos being in his head?" The raccoon asked, although the concern seemed solid.

"Whether Tony is right or not, I trust his judgment," Bruce said, knowing Tony's anguish and it hurt knowing that Tony was struggling with this. "He's already in a lot of pain; it'll be one less thing he'll have to think about if we figure this out as soon as possible." His phone went off again, and he reached for it as he continued listening to Thor.

After contemplating for a moment, Thor replied, "There may have been ways of defining something like this on Asgard, but there's nothing I can do with it destroyed."

"Either way, Tony's in no condition to be moved," Bruce replied, glancing down at Clint's text on his locked screen: _Get to hospital ASAP_.

Feeling himself freeze, Bruce's attention to Thor and Rocket disappeared as he tried taking a mellowing breath. "I may have an idea of how to help, but I may need some time to bu-" Rocket cut off, staring at Bruce with a scowl as Bruce read Clint's new text: _URGENT. _"Hey, are you even listening?"

"I'm sorry, there's an emergency at the hospital," Bruce confirmed anxiously, texting Clint: _On my way._

Thor paused, narrowing his eyes with concern, "Is Stark alright? Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, I think it's best to just have a few people at the hospital right now," he responded as he started backing up. Still looking at his phone, Bruce quickly gleamed at Thor and Rocket, adding, "Why don't you help Rocket with whatever plan he has to be sure Tony is Thanos free?" A million questions flew in the scientist's mind as fear rested in him, reading Clint's texts.

"Let me know if something happens," Thor said.

"Will do, I have to go," Bruce nodded before turning on his heels.

* * *

The door quietly slid open, where Natasha and Steve entered the penthouse carrying a few bags of groceries; all the requests finally ordered. It was a little weird, the idea of them all living together again. Not that Natasha, Steve, and Sam weren't living together on the run, but this was deja vu to when the Avengers first started, especially since Tony and Clint retired after Ultron, while Banner was missing and Thor left for Asgard. Tony and Clint swung by the base every now and then, but it was unusual not having them at the Compound consistently, it was upsetting. Steve and Natasha missed them, to be honest (not that they would tell them). And of course, everybody had their preferences for what they liked to eat or the specific soap they wanted. It might've been a long time since they all lived together, but it definitely wasn't forgotten.

As they moved towards the kitchen island, they eyed Thor who was sitting at one of the stools, resting his chin in his propped hands; in a thousand yard stare. "Hey," Natasha greeted. The Asgardian was wearing normal (human) clothes now; they all were. After being settled in Wakanda for a week with no further alien attacks, it seemed appropriate for them to finally wear casual clothing.

"Thor?" Steve said sharply, while he and Natasha set the bags on the counter.

Gradually, Thor looked at them and blinked, quipping "Huh?"

"You okay?" Steve asked with a bit of concern; they'd never seen Thor like this.

"Yeah," Thor answered, snapping out of whatever daze he was in.

"You sure?" The assassin questioned, pausing from helping put the groceries away. The Avenger was dealing with a lot of loss, it was well known; he only spoke a few times about it, but it was clear he was still grieving. They didn't even dare to ask about Loki, not that they cared about him, but he was still Thor's brother; they assumed the worse though. "You know, if you want to talk to somebody about what happened, we're here to listen."

"Thank you, but I'm uh...so I just." Beginning thoughtfully, Thor tried covering his sorrow with a friendly smile. It was hard to make Thor upset, but they knew him well enough to know he sometimes became overly kind and enthusiastic when he was down. The smile faded though and he sighed, "When Thanos attacked my fleet, some Asgardians escaped on pods. Rocket and Nebula have been trying to send out signals and there's no response. I don't know if the rest of my people are dead or alive, but having no answer is..."

Natasha and Steve stared at him sympathetically. "I'm sorry," Steve said sullenly; he couldn't imagine the thought of Earth destroyed and him possibly being the last human alive. It was terrifying and lonely; it was dark. "There's nothing we can do?"

"No," Thor groused, shaking his head hopelessly.

Holding her eyes on the depressed Asgardian for another moment, Natasha exchanged a look with Steve before they went back to unloading the food. "So, where's Rocket?" She eventually asked, hoping to distract him from his thoughts. Plus, Rocket hung around Thor often, so it was a little odd not seeing the raccoon.

"On his ship, tinkering," Thor concurred, "I'm not much of a tinker, I like to hit stuff. It's weird, he's like a mini Stark, but a raccoon."

The Avenger halted for a moment, thinking about it with a puzzled scowl. "Yes, that is weird, now that you've said it," she said before turning to get a glass of water.

"Thor, by the way, did Bruce talk to you about the...mind thing?" The super soldier lowly asked, while keeping some food out on the island to cook.

"Mind thing?" Thor looked confused.

"Stark and Thanos."

"What are you talking about?" Natasha wondered suspiciously.

Steve and Bruce were meaning to keep it quiet until they knew more, but Steve decided to be honest, "Tony mentioned something earlier today, saying Thanos was in his head, but the way he said it sounded like he was...terrified and serious." Leaning with her back against the counter, the assassin stared at the Captain, not knowing how to respond.

"Steve and Bruce are concerned Thanos may be using the mind stone on Tony," Thor explained.

"Do you think they're right?" Questioning the Asgardian, she drank from her water. The concern was growing as she knew Steve and Bruce wouldn't come up with an idea like that unless they thought it was serious.

"I can't be sure, but it's possible." Getting to his feet, Thor wandered around the island, looking over the food that was sitting out; uncooked salmon, green beans, and potatoes. He went to the refrigerator, pulling out a bag of cherries as he proceeded, "We were discussing ways to be sure Tony is clear, but there was an emergency at the hospital and Bruce had to leave."

Both Natasha and Steve shot their gaze towards him. "Wait..what?" Steve gapped, "We didn't hear about this. What happened at the hospital?"

"I'm not sure, Bruce left saying it'd be best if only a few people were with Tony at the moment," Thor said, grabbing a bowl, "that was a few hours ago though."

"Should we go to the hospital?" Natasha asked, the level of uneasiness increasing; they hadn't received one message of an emergency.

"I wouldn't dwell on it, I'm sure Bruce will give word soon," Thor muttered, walking back over to the other side of the island, but he remained standing.

Steve scowled, upset. "It's just, why don't people tell me stuff? _Still,_" Steve grumbled with the thought that something happened with Tony and he hadn't known until now.

"Maybe he didn't want you to worry until everything was sorted out or he just didn't have time to let you know," Thor reassured while chewing.

"That still doesn't change the fact that something could be seriously wrong and we don't know about it," Steve countered before pulling out his phone and texting Bruce: _Why didn't you tell us there was an emergency? Is Tony okay? Is it bad? _Natasha watched him, Steve could tell she was worried too.

Sighing in frustration, Steve went on to wash the beans and potatoes and while he did, the assassin grabbed his phone. "I'll tell you the details later, but it's not good," she read aloud. Steve paused when he heard Bruce's response. Exchanging a wary glance with Natasha and Thor, he switched off the water and apprehensively rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand.

Respecting and trusting Bruce's text, the three of them stayed in the penthouse. Rhodey eventually walked in, and apparently, he wasn't aware of the hospital emergency either. They had dinner and went on to do their own things. Natasha was in the lounging area with Thor watching a movie; it was almost ten-thirty at night by the time they finally heard the door. Looking over the back of the couch, past the kitchen, she got up as Clint and Bruce came in. Quickly, she and Thor both headed to the island where Clint and Bruce stopped to set their things on. They both look exhausted and shaken like a rug was pulled out from under their feet. "So, you want to tell us what happened?" Natasha asked, seeing a dreadful expression claiming Bruce's eyes.

From down the hall, Steve and Rhodey strolled out and as they did Natasha frowned as Bruce emotionally sighed, "Um..." His attention turned to Clint who bee-lined for the refrigerator with devastation; pulling out a beer, recklessly popping the cap off with a steak knife, and taking an unhealthfully long drink from it. This made the fear burn and crisp.

"Is Pepper still at the hospital?" Rhodey asked, seeing Bruce struggling with his words.

"Yeah, I'm going back there after I grab a few things," the scientist answered.

Assuming Tony's condition from Clint and Bruce's behavior, Steve pressed, "Tony was fine earlier, wasn't he?"

"Keyword, _earlier_," Bruce corrected as he watched the archer walk to the island and leaned down on his elbows with the beer set in front of him. Doing the same, Bruce pulled out some charts and set them out on the island as he supported his elbows on the granite countertop. "Tony has a few things going on. First, there's some bloody mucus built up in the one lung, which is normal. Mucus helps to fight infections and such, and there's no doubt there's still some blood in the lung from the wound. So, if you see Tony cough up some blood, don't freak out, it's just the lung trying to clear itself out." Pausing, Bruce exchanged a glance with Clint as he anxiously cracked his knuckles. "That's the only sorta okay news I have because Clint was with Tony when he threw up some blood. The doctors took him for some tests; his stomach lining is still damaged from the sword, which is causing inflammation and stomach bleeding. It's pretty bad." Concern collapsed on Natasha, Steve, Rhodey, and Thor's faces which mirrored Bruce and Clint's emotions, but Bruce held up a hand, signaling for them to let him finish. "And while the doctors were running tests, they found out Tony developed acute pulmonary edema, which is the excessive build-up of fluid in the lungs and it can be caused by damage to the chest wall...The thing is, there's not much of it in the lung that's injured, but it's developing a lot in the other lung."

"So, he's got two damaged lungs now," Clint finished frankly.

The four of them stood there looking shocked and in pure trepidation, trying to find something to say. "You guys don't have to say anything, it's a lot to take in," Bruce affirmed grievously, grimly complying, "Thanos did a serious number on Tony. I assure whatever caused the severe bruising is what led to the edema. Sometimes when injuries happen, it's not uncommon for people to be responsive and be up and talking; Tony obviously held out enough to get back to Earth, but then the symptoms take their toll and the person can deteriorate. There can even be days, like this afternoon where Tony seemed okay, but then it turns into a bad day." Bruce dropped his gaze for a moment, swallowing, "And I feel really bad, because thinking about it now the signs were totally there, but the symptoms blended themselves with Tony's recovery."

"He can be cured though?" Thor asked surprisingly urgent.

"Yes, but the real concern is the edema," Clint replied.

"Is it life threatening?"

"Pulmonary edema can be fatal," the scientist glanced at Natasha, responding in morose regarding Tony's condition. He took a steady breath, trying to be as tender with his words as possible. "The edema is causing Tony to be a little unstable, but the doctors have him on medication that should help Tony recover from it. Technically speaking, Tony should be okay, but we have every right to be concerned about this while he's undergoing it."

Stumbling back, Steve bumped against the island. "This is bad," Steve mumbled, glaring down at the floor.

"This is incredibly bad...imagine how Tony feels," Bruce said which sent grimaces around the room. Placing his hands on the papers he set down, he pushed them closer to Steve and Nat who were closest to the island. "Here are copies of Tony's charts if you want to look at them."

Thor sighed, he looked disturbed as Natasha picked up one of the charts. "Is there anything we can do?" he asked.

"The doctors are doing what they can," Clint supplied as he rubbed his face in anguish.

"You said you're going back to the hospital?" Rhodey glanced at Bruce.

"Yeah, Pepper and I will be staying with Tony tonight," the scientist stood upright, inputting, "Even if he's surrounded by doctors, I don't feel comfortable with him being left alone."

"Maybe I should go with you," the colonel suggested, eager to go see his friend.

Inhaling and exhaling an irritated yet smooth breath, Bruce saw the heavy pain and worry swallowing the group and he gently voiced, "It's a nice gesture, but right now only one or two people should be in that room at a time with him. Tony's in a lot of discomfort, he's way too stressed, he's not sleeping, he's not eating, and I'm doing everything I can to keep him calm through all these complications on top of the general recovery." The four of them were understandably upset; every once in a while breaking eye contact, but they listened. "He's not doing well, at all," Bruce said heavily and honestly, "I'm sorry, but only Pepper and I are allowed in that room tonight, but I promise if something happens I'll let you know. Okay?" Through the harrowing paces and sighs, Bruce could tell his friends understood his reasoning for limiting the bodies in Tony's room. Bruce hated telling his friends they couldn't see Tony at the moment, especially when he just told them he wasn't doing well, but Tony's health was the priority at the moment. "Excuse me, I need to get a few things. Would somebody mind packing some food for Pepper and I?" Bruce then asked, pausing momentarily before he left for his room.

"Yeah," Steve nodded, still processing the information on Tony's health, and suddenly what Natasha said about speaking to Tony was coursing through his mind...and hers.

"Nat, can you come here for a moment?" Bruce motioned for Natasha to follow him, in which she did down the hall. They were gone for about ten minutes until Bruce exited the hallway with a backpack on his back while Natasha handed him a second backpack. Reaching the island, Bruce placed some of Tony's medical charts into the backpack before Steve handed him a paper bag full of food. "Thank you," Bruce acknowledged hastily before he grabbed his jacket and headed to the door. Stopping, he gazed over his shoulder at the five of them as they watched him with immensely dejectedly looks. The best Bruce could say to ease their unrest and worry for Tony was, "You guys should get some rest, it's going to be a long night." And he left.

* * *

The last few hours were intense and vivid. One moment Tony felt okay, but the next he was throwing up blood and coughing up blood; it was a lot of blood...it was painful. Then there were hands on him and people were telling him to calm down, it was going to be okay. To be honest, it was becoming more irritating and stressful than soothing because nothing seemed like it'd be okay, he could hear the fear in their voices; Pepper, Clint, and Bruce. Tony didn't know what to do, he felt completely exposed and defenseless which frustrated him because he couldn't do anything; he didn't have the strength, but he was desperate for it...he wanted out of the hospital and he wanted to go home, but he was stuck here and people could see his weakness. He hated being seen as weak, nobody liked being seen as weak. Guilt was there because while Tony laid on what felt like his deathbed, his friends were kind and supportive and concerned. It was enough, Tony had had enough, he wanted the dark and the quiet because he was in anguish and that was the only thought of relief he had. All he wanted was a quiet, dark room and Pepper.

Tony inhaled a heavy sigh, taking a much-needed break from his labored breathing; even if it was for three seconds, it was enough. Laying on his side facing the wall, Tony watched the calming shadows that crept into the room, although the dimmed lights were still too bright and he closed his eyes when they stung. Pepper sat by his side, but she didn't touch him as he laid there sensitive to the pain; Tony was done trying to fight it. For the most part, Tony kept his eyes shut, hoping the time would pass by faster. After all, the doctors had given him light sedation to try relaxing his body, but the pain that couldn't be managed and the difficulty breathing left him restless. Tony was used to restless nights though...they were horrible, but this was a whole other level where he couldn't move or hardly breathe.

Hearing rustling, Tony cracked open his eyes and realized Pepper was gone. He was too exhausted for his mind to drift, so he didn't try shifting his eyes or head, but he heard whispers behind him towards the door. Not bothering to eavesdrop, considering most of the whispers were inaudible, Tony ignored the soft voices and focused on getting the oxygen in and out of his lungs. "Tony, you really shouldn't be laying on your side like that; you could breathe easier on your back," Bruce murmured from somewhere in the room.

With a frustrated gruff, Tony retorted rather firmly, "The back..incision hurts." Tony was getting annoyed at what people were saying he should or shouldn't do; eat something, don't lay like that, don't touch that, don't drink too much, breathe, take deep breaths. Patience and politeness were starting to strain, especially when Tony felt like his entire body was broken, and people weren't understanding there was only so much he could do. The one place that hurt the least was the side that hadn't been operated on. There were still bruises, but it hurt far less than anywhere else, and now Bruce was telling him not to lay where it was bearable for Tony to lay...whatever, Tony didn't listen.

The whispers continued briefly before Pepper came back to where Tony could see her. "Tony, I'm going to be gone for about fifteen or twenty minutes," she said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Okay? I'll be back."

"...please hurry..." Tony complied, not wanting her to leave.

"I will, I promise," Pepper replied before squeezing his arm comfortingly and leaving.

Sighing depressingly, Tony painfully moaned with agitation. "Tony?" Bruce quickly came to Tony's side and tried to steadily sit down, but the billionaire could read his friend's anxiety a thousand times over. "How are you doing? Is there something I can do?" The look on Bruce's face and the sound in his voice were dire; Tony almost felt bad for making him so worried, but there was nothing he could do to change that.

Tony observed Bruce for a moment, swallowing nervously. The heaviness of Tony's chest was so bad, he could hardly get much oxygen from the mask. His chest hurt, the wound hurt, his body hurt..."It's filling..up in the other lung..in both lungs now. And..my chest lining is swollen," Tony weakly explained to Bruce with exhaustion.

The scientist's expression wasn't good, hearing this information that was sorted out while he was gone. "Tony, I'm.." Bruce started, but Tony cut him off in between a wheeze.

"Bruce...I feel..like I'm going to die," Tony winced quietly, but honestly, "I think...'s getting really bad."

"Tony, you're going to be okay," Bruce replied with a grimace, trying to steer Tony away from those thoughts.

"I feel like..'m being torn..apart and drowning at the same time," the Avenger complained, corresponding to the amount of fluid he could feel in his lungs. "I don't..know what to do...I don't feel like I'm getting better."

Tony was not a complainer, in fact, he was very reserved on anything that was wrong; so, for Tony to complain, Bruce knew it was bad. "I know, Tony, you've been really patient, but your injuries are severe," Bruce was tender with his words, crucially watching Tony's irregular respirations. The billionaire's attention stayed on Bruce, although he couldn't help shutting his eyes often from fatigue. "From my observation, you've been unsteady; you get better at parts and then get worse at parts, but it's a consistent line and your condition is remaining the same. Hopefully, when we get these complications cleared up you'll start getting better, but it has only been eight days."

"...too damn long...how many..hours is that?.." Tony asked, not fond of doing math at the moment.

"One hundred ninety-two," Bruce answered sympathetically.

"God...I'm suffering here," Tony groaned in aggravation.

"I know, I-"

"I..want this to be..over," the engineer rasped before wheezing.

Trying to pull himself up, Tony leaned his head back against the bed and let his eyes gingerly roll shut. He took deep breaths, meaning to settle his heart; he could feel the stress of it beating, and he could feel the sweat on his forehead despite the cold that singed his skin. "Tony, hang in there, alright? Pepper and I are staying with you. Okay?" Bruce muttered with tranquility, which caught Tony by surprise, but the billionaire appreciated his friend's calmness because Tony was not having a good week. "We're going to help you through this, Tony," Bruce said, which made Tony open his eyes and glare at Bruce's worried look.

It was ironic that everyone was telling Tony he was going to be alright because he spent the next few hours coughing and spitting up blood. The episode of it got bad enough that Pepper crawled on the other side of Tony and wrapped one arm around his back while locking her other arm with his. She held onto him tightly as he severely spat blood into the tray. Tony gritted his teeth with agonizing resentment as he dealt with the harsh pain that lingered from each brutal cough and heave. Eventually, there was leeway and Tony was left panting to catch his breath; he could feel his abdominal muscles starting to spasm as his torso trembled from sitting upright for too long.

"Want to lay back down?" Bruce gingerly asked, seeing how feeble Tony looked, but he wasn't moving or answering. The scientist was at the bedside; he let Pepper do her thing, but Bruce was there holding onto Tony's shoulder as they kept him steady while he harrowingly struggled for air. Bruce knew Tony, and his current state was exactly why he was sure nobody else would be in that room. The last thing Tony needed was an audience.

"Give him a minute," Pepper said as her husband still collected himself. She put a comforting hand against Tony's cheek, to which he closed his eyes and took a rough breath while feeling her warmth. He felt both their hands ease him back down, where he gleamed at the ceiling; there were black patches starting to cloud the genius' vision. Pepper laid beside him, propped on her elbow while Tony limply lay on his back. He wheezed mellowly a few times as Pepper and Bruce worriedly watched him. Tony winced grimly, feeling as if the incision was tearing open. Feeling for the wound, the billionaire moaned, but Bruce grabbed Tony's hand as he sat down. The Avenger was getting paranoid thinking something would rip, but Bruce was keen that the staples would hold.

"Tony..." Pepper reciprocated kindly, but with a scolding tone. She hated hearing him beg for that request because she wasn't sure if Tony was serious or not. "You're going to get through this."

"He should've...let me die," he mumbled with dismay through the mask.

"Tony.." Bruce whined dreadfully, exchanging a look of chagrin with Pepper. There were tears in her eyes as she ran a hand through Tony's hair while he kept his eyes opened by slits. Those words stung while the Avengers were trying everything to get Tony through the first week.

"...He was ready to kill me..." Tony swallowed, remembering the gauntlet being held feet from his face. He had seen the power of the stones and the gauntlet and it made Tony wonder how Thanos would kill him; Thanos had the power to end his life by any means. There was no closure to that thought, though, as Strange asked for Tony's life to be spared. "..then he..gave up the stone..."

"Who? Strange?" Bruce quipped, narrowing his eyes as Tony began talking about the missing pieces.

"..told him not to..I begged him.." he croaked with a frustrated groan.

When his breathing anxiously increased, Pepper grabbed Tony's forearm, "Tony, it's okay, it's okay."

"We had it, I had it in my hand..." Tony groused before he deeply winced, but he continued flustered, "I told him not to engage...don't engage...I'm here, all this happened 'cause he didn't listen..."

"Who didn't listen?" The scientist didn't get a response as Tony's raspy breaths turned into panicked hyperventilation. "Tony, it's okay, you can stop," he reposed in slight alarm, but Bruce understood it wasn't from a trigger, it was the edema.

Inhaling was slow and stiff, and Tony could feel himself not getting enough oxygen. He could feel his body crying for it no matter how deep of a breath he took. "Pepper..can you talk to me?" Tony sniffled as Pepper held his hand, but she was careful not to press too hard against his body.

"What do you want me to talk about?" Pepper's voice was quiet and soft as she closed her eyes and affectionately laid her head against his.

"..Anything..." he mumbled almost breathlessly as she pulled her head up, contemplating for a subject, but she knew Tony wanted a distraction.

Pepper sighed, and began, "Remember when we first met..."

* * *

Bruce kept a close eye on Tony, but he redirected his attention to his phone, texting Clint: _Tony mentioned some things...I think whatever happened on Titan, it was intense. _Strange handing over the stone, it just didn't sound right. Nebula said the same thing, but Bruce knew Strange wouldn't do that...unless they were backed into a corner maybe.

He looked at Clint's text. _What kind of things?_

_I need to think about it more, sorry to bother you. _It was three thirty-five in the morning.

_It's fine, sleep's been iffy tonight...how's Tony?_

Bruce sighed and was hesitant to answer. _It's not good, I think the edema is getting worse. His blood pressure was high earlier, but now it's low again. He's losing oxygen._

A few painstaking minutes went by before Clint answered. _We're here if you need us. Just don't leave us hanging if something goes wrong._

_I won't._

After he sent the text, Bruce left Pepper with Tony while he got up to keep himself occupied. At some point, he switched from coffee to tea, realizing he was drinking way too much caffeine, but the scientist felt so tired. It didn't seem right though compared to Tony staying awake from agony and the inability to breathe. Eventually, Tony had relaxed enough that he laid on his side again, seeming asleep while Pepper rested beside him; they were both exhausted. The moment wasn't merciful though and while Bruce sat reading, Tony stirred.

* * *

Breathing heavily, Tony blinked awake hazily. Cold sweat clung to his chest and back which sent a painful shiver leeching its way down the Avenger's spine. Lifting his head in slight confusion, Tony reached behind him and felt Pepper laying beside him; she was asleep. It helped to calm him as he reoriented himself with shallow gasps; the pressure and pain still rattled in his chest and latched onto his body. "Tony?" Startled, Tony's eyes shifted to Bruce who was approaching him. His friend absorbed the confused and lost look lapping in Tony's eyes as the billionaire managed to prop himself on his elbow. As he mildly wheezed a few times, Bruce asked, "You okay?" That question seemed far-fetched; Tony was _not_ okay.

The wheezing turned into a few choking coughs; the air catching in Tony's throat as he'd fight to get it out, but when the coughing stopped, Tony answered dully, "Sometimes, I'll wake up and forget where I am...and," he shivered, "for a moment I'll be somewhere else."

"Has this been happening often?" Bruce asked, knowing Tony was struggling and hoping he would start talking about what he was experiencing. At least with that information, the scientist could try helping him.

"It's mellowed down, but it was really...bad when I wa..s waking up after surgery," Tony said rather clearly.

"I understand that more than you could know; well, not from nightmares, but I've wakened up in too many strange places to count," Bruce grinned shallowly, meaning to lend a heartful joke, but it didn't phase Tony. He was stripped of all strength and was agitated; his arm started to shake and he grew short of breath just by holding himself up on his elbow. "You're safe, though, Tony. You're in the hospital," he reassured while resting his arm on the bedside, "What was the nightmare, if I may ask?"

"I relive these moments," Tony said, looking extremely detached as he achingly patted the wound. "I can feel it..going through me." Sympathetically, Bruce watched Tony lower himself back onto the bed with airy and painful breaths. "It all happened so fast...one moment I was in Central Park with Pepper and then that sword was...and everybody was gone..." A grimace crossed Tony's face, but it quickly shifted to fidgety and nervous; he suddenly felt like he'd been dunked underwater and all these thoughts were crashing like waves.

"What's wrong?" Bruce pried, anxious towards Tony's sudden behavior change.

Tony gazed around the room, he then glanced over at Pepper; he couldn't wake her. "...'s jus'..." the Ironman trailed off. Drowsily, he closed his eyes without interest in responding to Bruce, but in the next few seconds he moderately sat up and began coughing. He really didn't feel good.

"Whoa," Bruce snipped, surprised at Tony sitting up. Getting to his feet, Bruce guarded Tony as his coughing grew worse. With each damaging cough, Tony would weakly shake and it frightened Bruce when he laid a hand on Tony's arm, feeling the cold and clamminess of his skin.

The coughing awoke Pepper and she quickly grabbed on to Tony, "Tony?"

It was becoming insufferable; every breath, Tony could feel the strain and layers of soreness. "I jus'...I need a break...my whole body is sore...it hurts just to lay," Tony panted with a groan, it was excruciating trying to move.

Tony wasn't tuned to Pepper and Bruce, he only had the energy to worry about himself, but he could sense their devastation. "Do you want some water?" The scientist asked.

Water didn't sound good even though he was extremely thirsty. "No..." he whispered, letting his eyes shut.

"Are you sure? It may help?" Bruce encouraged growing fearful of Tony's symptoms, but his friend effortlessly shook his head no.

Feeling his muscles tightening up again, Tony restlessly laid on his side. This motion led Pepper to move to give Tony room, but he grabbed her hand, stating meaningfully "No, please don't leave." When he said that, Pepper laid back down beside him while Bruce went to grab a few blankets from a drawer. Tony hadn't asked for them, but Bruce set them on the foot of the bed in case he needed them because he was starting to shiver.

Several moments went by, which were unusually calm. Pepper stayed next to Tony on her side while Bruce sat beside him, and for the moment it was okay. Breathing was still grueling, but Tony tried reserving his breath by inhaling, then holding, then exhaling. Tony didn't know if it was helping, but it made him feel a bit better. His mind posed disorganized and memories continued to flash this way and that until Peter crossed his mind and he felt a lump in his throat and tears were gathering in his eyes; it made him congested and made his breathing worse. "Pepper..." Tony conveyed, and she heard the trouble and sorrow in his voice, "Peter's gone."

Sighing edgily, Pepper gazed at Tony mournfully. "I know...we were told.." She felt an ache in her heart, sharing his pain.

"I didn'...he snuck on the ship..." he stuttered, shutting his eyes and feeling Peter grab onto him, crying out that he didn't want to die. Tony held onto him as they both collapsed to the ground and within the next moment Peter was gone. _I'm sorry..._No, no, _Tony_ was sorry. "I thought I sent him back...I sh...he was such a good kid..it should've been me..." Tony cringed and choked at the memory as the emotion clotted in his throat.

"Tony, it's not your fault," Pepper soothed, landing a sympathetic hand on his shoulder.

But it was...Tony didn't get a chance to say that, he suddenly felt faint and breathless. Closing his eyes, he thought he felt something pull at him and he realized he stopped breathing for a long moment when a hand shook him. "Tony, deep breaths." Gradually blinking, Tony stared at Bruce with a bit of shock while breathing shallowly yet heavily.

"Whoa...think I..jus'...blacked out.." The Avenger maundered, lightly coughing, feeling like he was missing a few minutes of time.

"Yeah, you did," Bruce murmured with great worry, and Tony briefly glanced at Pepper who looked sullen, "but deep breaths, alright? You're doing good, oxygen helps with the edema."

Shifting and placing a hand on his chest, Tony turned his eyes to Bruce and grumbled, "Can't breathe...'m like suffocating." All Tony was hearing was 'breathe'; he was trying to breathe. All he was doing every day for the past four days was trying to breathe, through the soreness and the pain and now lungs full of bloodied fluid. Tony spent every ounce of strength trying to breathe; it was exhausting and frustrating, and people telling him to breathe was _not_ helping.

"I know..." Bruce was timid and affectionate, meaning to be comforting towards his friend. Tony wasn't following Bruce, but as he began wheezing the scientist got to his feet and walked into the engineer's blind spot. "...I need you to tone down the talking, you're struggling with getting oxygen."

"Well, it's keeping me occupied," Tony couldn't help but snap as he felt the oxygen administering through the mask gently increase. With choking coughs, Tony suddenly felt an overlap of emotions and Pepper pulled herself closer to Tony, knowing he was growing anxious. "I can't do anything, I can't go anywhere...I don't know what to do." The rush quickly hit and Tony began grisly wheezing, and fear fleetly ensued; he felt trapped. Bruce hastily returned to the chair and tried pressing a hand against Tony's shoulder, but he stopped himself at seeing the billionaire's stress level and he didn't want to cause a trigger.

"Tony...look at me, you're okay," Pepper urged, trying to get him to relax.

The scarring pain and the crisp breaths built enough that Tony was restless; he didn't know what to do and he was tired of that feeling. "I ne..I need to get up," he panted hoarsely, wincing as he sat up and was determined to get out of bed; but the moment Tony sat upright he felt the shooting pain and the shortness of breath. Hands rapidly grabbed him as he breathed arduously and gruesomely groaned.

"Tony, no, wait, stop!" Pepper almost shouted with bewilderment.

"Tony, stop!" Bruce repeated her words with despair, and Tony listened.

He froze, feeling the sweat on his forehead and chest as his heart painfully raced. "I can..can't take this anymore," Tony huffed, and both Bruce and Pepper grimaced at the strenuous tone in the Avenger's voice.

On his feet, Bruce forcefully had his hands on Tony's shoulder and chest. He wasn't aware if he was hurting Tony, but he wasn't going to let him get up. Tony hadn't even been on his feet yet and he was in no condition, but Bruce understood his friend's state of mind. He was tired, aggravated, in pain, and Bruce knew all those things were a menacing combination. "I know, I know...but you can't get up while like this, I don't want you collapsing," Bruce said calmly, trying to push Tony back down, but the genius wasn't budging and he stopped as Tony's rasp turned to violent coughing.

Bruce handed Tony the tray and he felt the blood drip from his mouth as he continuously coughed. Tony wasn't sure how long it lasted, but it felt like forever of choking on air until he exhausted out and stopped. Pepper held her arm around his shoulder as he wheezed and got what air he could in his lungs. "You have to stay here, do you understand?" Pepper mumbled softly, "You're going to get through this." After a moment, and when Tony had settled down enough, Pepper glanced at Bruce, "Bruce, could you give us a moment alone?"

"Okay..." Bruce didn't favor leaving Tony, but he left to give them some privacy.

Tony leaned most of his weight on Pepper as they sat there side by side, both worn out from the night. With deep breaths, he rested his head against hers as his eyes drooped. He stared into the dark, feeling his body lightly quiver as he entwined his hands with Pepper's; he gripped them tightly, but she didn't seem to mind. The room was silent, except for the heart monitor, but even the beeping was starting to get to Tony's head. "What time is it?" He finally asked, wishing for a window or just a ray of natural light, but the hospital felt like a prison and he was smack dab in the ICU. He knew what it was like to go for weeks without seeing the sun...it almost drove Tony crazy, and it made him appreciate spending time outside. So to be stuck in a room with no window, it was getting under Tony's skin.

"Five twenty-three a.m." Pepper replied.

Dawn, it was dawn...The thought of watching a sunrise burned into Tony's mind and he felt something that gnawed at his heart, and it was greater than all the pain and suffering he endured. He felt his eyes rolling back from fatigue, but he forced them to crack open as he thought about that sunrise. After being at death's door he needed the light, and he hoped he'd get it because all night he was fine with the idea of dying. But then Pepper was there, and she made everything okay, even in the darkest of hours; she managed to keep Tony striving for the end where he could walk out of that hospital. "I don't think I could've made it if it turned out you were gone," Tony admitted emotionally as tears collected in his eyes at the thought of coming home and finding out Pepper was gone. He wouldn't have lived.

Holding onto him affectionately, Pepper said with unquenchable dread, "You would've been okay. Do you hear me?" The tears started streaming down his face, and as they did Pepper tightened her grip for comfort. It hurt, but at this point, Tony didn't care, he couldn't do much about it anyway. "You're going to be okay. Okay? You're going to be okay." Shutting his eyes, Tony took in the moment; feeling Pepper beside him, and hearing her trying to hold back her tears as he wheezed again. When he opened his eyes, hours had passed. The pressure and swollen pain were still there, but the stiffness lessened slightly where Tony could breathe a little easier; that sliver of extra oxygen was everything. Exhaustively, the billionaire blinked, hearing muffled voices.

_"...ey...want..switch out?...e asle..ep?.."_

_"..D..nt...think so...rough nigh...scared...kill 'im...getting..really bad..."_

Tony still hadn't got any real rest; he laid on his side with his eyes closed. Every now and then he'd crack them open, but his mind never found sleep even if his eyes rolled back and he slipped in and out of consciousness. It was torture, he ached for true sleep, but it never came; those nights always shadowed Tony, it was rare for a good night sleep. Perhaps part of that was on Tony, afraid that if he shut his eyes he'd never open them again; at least, at this moment. _"...wer...all night?..."_ Then again, he had seven bodyguards and one of them, Pepper, still hadn't left his side, and it was enough that Tony felt peaceful to an extent.

_"..not...restless...so bad..."_

_"..."_

_"..subsi...wor...respiratory distress..."_

_"...worri...austed..."_ There was a long moment of silence, and Tony was so used to soft whispers that it felt alien and he grew anxious. When the whispering sounded though, it was far closer and it coaxed Pepper; he could feel the shift in the bed as her warmth left him. The thought of Pepper suddenly triggered a horrid memory of her falling off the rig's rafters. Tony flinched and he felt a few calming hands on his side. He tried lifting his head a few centimeters to look over his shoulder, but the cruel weakness was there and he let his head collapse back to the pillow. _"Stay down,"_ he heard and he shut his eyes.

* * *

The hospital was busy, as usual, but it always felt eerie walking into the ICU. It was always quiet there, sometimes too quiet, but it was necessary for the injured. Leisurely, Clint walked down the corridor. He was tired; he got decent sleep, but sleep wasn't much in his vocabulary anymore, he spent most nights thinking about his family. God, he missed them, and it took all his being to fight the emotions that were expressed on his face. He tried giving himself something else to think about; anything. Sometimes he'd just stare at the cut on his arm and pick at the scab starting to form; he did that a lot during the night while waiting for updates on Tony. Clint really couldn't bear losing somebody else.

Reaching the doorframe, he found Bruce in a chair, resting his head against his palm with closed eyes. Clint's eyes flicked over to Tony who was unmoving and Pepper was laying next to him sleeping. He was aware of Tony's condition, but even Bruce and Pepper looked battered. "Hey," Hawkeye called quietly and Bruce sluggishly lifted his gaze to meet the archer. "Do you want to switch out? It's almost eleven o'clock." The fact that it was an hour from noon and the Avengers hadn't heard anything from Bruce aside from his texts in the middle of the night, it was highly concerning. Clint had somehow become their messenger, considering he was there for all of Tony's testing and Bruce had essentially kicked everyone else out of the hospital. However, Bruce wasn't answering Clint and that affirmed the Avenger's worry; there was a cold and empty look on the scientist's face as he stared into space. "He asleep?" Clint asked, gesturing with his head towards Tony.

"I don't think so," Bruce replied sorely, rubbing his face with his hand. As Clint took further steps into the room, Bruce got up to meet him halfway. "It was a rough night...I actually,..for some time I got scared that the edema was going to kill him; he was on and off coughing and throwing up blood for hours. I mean, they were from different problems, but together it really beat him up," he said with confidentiality, and hearing that made Clint frown with worry. "Clint, it was getting really _really_ bad."

"Were you up all night?" Clint wondered, folding his arms across his chest.

"Not even a bit of sleep," he alluded grimly, "Tony was so restless; I feel so bad for him, it was so unbearable he tried getting out of bed." Clint took a deep breath as he gleamed at the injured Avenger. "Fortunately, the symptoms for the stomach inflammation and bleeding subsided a bit. Tony could probably eat something, but I think he may be afraid to. The edema, though, it got worse during the night and I think it caused some further blood in his lungs; sometimes it can do that. It's a bit better now and he's breathing a little easier, but...it got so bad I thought he may go into respiratory distress." Grimacing at the danger Tony was in, Clint exchanged a dreary glance with Bruce as he bleakly explained the details of the night.

"He made it through the night though," the archer stated hopefully, "You had us all worried. Hell, every now and then I'd get texts from my neighbors down the hall wondering if anything happened."

Bruce chuckled lightly, "We're still doing that?"

"Pssh, of course we are," Clint responded, remembering when the Avengers still occupied the Tower, it wasn't uncommon for them to text each other while right next each other when it was an uneventful day. "Why don't you and Pepper get some rest? You look exhausted," he said, watching Pepper for a moment.

"As long as it's just you in here," Bruce noted as he walked pass Clint and began packing up his belongings. "I'm not sure if Tony wants the room swamped while he's like this."

Pivoting to face Bruce, Clint asked, "I understand, but could I bring Nat in here? She wants to speak with him, she says its important."

"Important?" Bruce had a suspicious look on his face, gazing at Hawkeye.

Clint shrugged, "She didn't tell me what it was, Nat said it was between her and Stark."

"It's up to Tony if he wants her in here," the scientist said, glancing over his shoulder.

"Is he still under light sedation?" Clint questioned, briefly gawking at Tony who looked unresponsive.

"Yeah, he's been on light sedation all night, but this is the most he's been relaxed since yesterday and he's only been like this for maybe an hour and a half," Bruce explained, placing his bag on a chair and returning his attention to Clint. "He basically wore himself out. The edema is still there, but he's getting a decent break from the coughing. It'll probably come back in episodes until he fully recovers from it...he's very ill, Clint."

"I know...I'll keep an eye on him, okay?" Clint reassured as Bruce nodded with a sigh and gazed over at Pepper.

Moderately, Clint approached Pepper. "Pepper..." Laying a hand on her shoulder, the Avenger gently nudged her. She quickly awoke and gazed over her shoulder at Clint. "Come on, go get some rest; I'll stay with Tony," he was benign. Pepper glanced at Tony for a moment, who hadn't moved, but she proceeded at getting up. The second she pulled herself up, though, Tony merely flinched and Pepper quickly put a hand on his side. As Tony struggled to look over his shoulder, Clint swiftly held his hand on Tony's side, below his arm, beside Pepper's, directing to the billionaire somberly, "It's fine, stay down." When Tony lowered his head, Pepper went to get her things. Clint pulled his hand off Tony, watching Tony's chest poorly rise and fall from rigid breaths; he could hear the heaviness of his respirations. Gradually, Pepper and Bruce finished gathering their things and left, and as they did Clint sat down in a chair and texted Natasha: _You can come over._

Twenty minutes passed before Natasha walked in carrying a small box. "Hey," she said, glancing from Tony to Clint.

"Hey," Clint greeted.

"Is Tony awake?" Natasha asked.

"He's under some sedation and he's exhausted, so I'm not sure how responsive he'll be, but you can try talking to him," he answered, languidly following the assassin over to the side of the bed where Tony was facing. "Tony?" Clint called quietly, although he was unsure if Tony was still awake; he was limp and Natasha eyed the man with concern. There was some relief, though, when Tony feebly blinked and looked up at them; his eyes were bloodshot and glassy, but he looked surprisingly content. "Hey...how..is there something we can do for you?" Tony did his best to reluctantly shake his head, no, as Natasha sat down in the chair beside the bed and set the box on her lap.

"Are you doing better?" she questioned, empathetic towards Tony.

"No..." Tony mumbled honestly, partially rolling onto his back to get a better view of his colleagues, "I..was up all night..."

"I know, I heard...I'm sorry," the Avenger replied solemnly.

"I'm sorry..." Pausing his words, the Golden Avenger staggered as he pushed himself up a bit until he grew tired and stopped. "I'm...it's exhausting to talk," Tony winced faintly, letting Natasha and Clint know his verbal responses would be limited.

"It's okay," Natasha said sympathetically before the assassin looked up at Clint and quipped, "Clint, could you give us a moment?" The archer reacted a bit confused, but he respectfully stepped out. When he was gone, Natasha returned her attention to Tony who watched her with pain, exhaustion, and sorrow. "I know last night was pretty brutal, and I just thought that this could help boost your spirit. Or not, it's just a little something." Setting the box on the bedside, she pushed it towards Tony as he temporarily pulled the oxygen mask off fully, but the assassin noticed it was much more of an effort for him to breathe when he did. For a moment, Natasha thought about opening the gift for him, but he took hold of it and dragged it close to him. He paused after achingly pulling the lid off and stared down at the object in the middle of the tissue paper. Carefully reaching for it, Tony pulled out a stone statue of a zebra laying down, small enough that it fit in his hand when opening it palm-up. "In Africa, zebras are looked at as symbols of friendship and unity," Natasha told mellowly, cautiously treading when she spoke, "Tony..I was with Steve when we found out the truth about your parents. At the time, we didn't know it was the Winter Soldier..and we didn't know how to tell you." Tony continued to examine the zebra, looking a little edgy at the subject, but he listened. "I'm incredibly sorry about your parents and I know finding out hurt you and it just made the Accords all the worse. A lot of mistakes were made in the heat of the moment, and it wrecked a lot of things...none of us wanted that," she implied to their friendships, allowing Tony to gaze at her as she continued sincerely, "I'm hoping you can forgive me, because I knew about your parents also...and I want all of us to be how we use to be, I miss that."

Gleaming down at the zebra, Tony ruminated. It was a beautiful piece of art; a dark grey stone with chalky white engravements outlining the stripes. The gesture actually made the genius feel a bit emotional at what Natasha was meaning to come to, but then the thought of his parents was there. He shut his eyes, loathing that footage he was shown. "Where is he?" Tony couldn't help but ask, but he kept his temper.

"Bucky...was with us here fighting Thanos' army, but he was one of the ones that..disappeared," Natasha informed, hoping Tony would be civil.

"I see..." the billionaire uttered, feeling over the zebra. He truly was indifferent to Bucky's death, but he realized that Steve was probably upset.

The thought of his mind quickly changed though, glaring at the zebra without any words to say. He sheepishly and emotionally smirked, feeling a bit lost. "What?" Natasha asked.

"Natasha Romanoff brought me a gift," he replied, feeling touched that out of all people, Natasha went out of her way for the zebra while Tony was stuck in that bed with terrifying injuries.

"Oh, shut up," she retorted bashfully, and he saw her eyes glint, "Do you like it?"

"Of course...I.." the engineer swallowed, breaking their eye contact for a moment to control himself, but he mused, "I'm trying to fight my emotions here."

"I won't tell anyone if you don't," Natasha proposed, and Tony felt the appreciation that the assassin actually _cared_.

"It's a done deal," Tony concurred and after a long moment he looked at her, "I'm sorry too." The guilt was starting to rouse, knowing he didn't try stopping the marshals for hunting her down. She just shook her head lightly, understanding that they all made mistakes. "Thank you for this, Natasha," Tony acknowledged genuinely, "I mean it."

"I just want you to get better," she verified warmly.

"Thank you," he said thoughtfully, delicately handing Natasha the zebra.

She assumed, cleaning up the box, "Do you want me to put this on a table?" As she was about get up, the assassin heard Tony wheeze a few times. In worry, she shot her gaze towards him as he painfully held a hand on his chest. "You okay?" Natasha asked, not realizing how bad the wheezes were, but Tony nodded as if he was used to it.

"..need to lay down..." Tony muttered, trying to ease the Widow's doubtful look, "..'s fine..can you.." He never finished his sentence as he indicated to the zebra, but Natasha understood and went to set it on the dresser for others to see it. By the time the Avenger turned back around, Tony was already on his side with the oxygen mask back on. Natasha remained where she was by the dresser, watching Tony for a moment, almost feeling bad for having him get up and interact with her, but he did anyway; he seemed to enjoy the company. Drawing her eyes to Clint as he leaned against the doorframe, she beckoned him over with her hand and hugged him as she grew upset.

* * *

**to be continued...**


	9. Titan

**ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT || REWRITE IS BEING POSTED AT DEAR MR FANTASY**

* * *

**A Painful Reunion**

9 of ?

Titan

* * *

"Are you getting bored with peanut butter yet?" Pepper asked as she helped rinse Tony's hair in the sink. They were both in the bathroom connected to his hospital room. Within the last three days, he was finally able to get out of bed a few times and today he was sitting on a stool as Pepper helped clean him up. It felt so nice to be clean, he felt so much better. Tony was able to wash off all the sweat, grease, and whatever specks of dried blood there were with a wet cloth. The incision was still pink, but the skin had closed and his chest had been wrapped in bandages to help hold everything that was still healing internally and compress some of the bruising, but he was finally able to put on sweatpants and wore a zip-up hoodie that he kept unzipped; it felt better allowing his torso to breathe.

"Not entirely, it's definitely better than painkillers for breakfast, lunch, and dinner," he reciprocated and Pepper hummed in amusement. When the stomach bleeding and inflammation had stopped, Bruce had simply walked in and handed Tony a jar of peanut butter, saying _'eat this'_. Tony had to admit, it was a bright idea on Bruce's part because it was easy on his stomach and was pure protein, which was something the billionaire seriously needed. Meanwhile, the edema was taking longer to recover from; his breathing still felt stuffy, but his respirations were much smoother. There was still soreness and Tony's pain level was toned down to a four, but this was by far the best day compared to the last twelve days. He didn't feel like a billion dollars quite yet, but he felt like a million, and that was good enough. Eagerness was coddling his heart, wanting to get out of the hospital, but the doctors were keeping him in the ICU until the end of the week to keep an eye on the edema. They were going to move him to a regular recovery room for a few days when he was able to leave the ICU; Tony didn't like that idea, he tried convincing them to send him straight to the penthouse, but the doctors weren't going to clear him until he stopped urinating blood to be sure his damaged kidney was functioning properly. "Although, some chicken and rice sound pretty good," Tony added, thinking about some of the things his mom would make him when he was sick as a child.

"I'll see what I can do," she complied, turning off the water when all the soap was out of his hair. "At least you're getting your appetite back." Playfully, Pepper threw a towel over the engineer's head when he pulled it upright from the sink while supporting his weight against the counter; he already washed his face and shaved, but he rubbed his hair with the towel before wrapping it around his head and looking up at Pepper like a nun.

"Such a saint," Pepper said, affectionately sharing Tony's gaze, but those words sunk in and he frowned defeatedly.

Thoughts of the many lives he destroyed, hurt, and the failure to protect the Avengers burned his mind; failure at protecting Peter. "No, I'm not," Tony replied, pulling the towel off his head and holding it tightly in his hands.

"We all have our demons, Tony," she replied with a sigh, understanding his sorrow. A gentle moment passed as Pepper fixed Tony's hair before sitting down on a stool across from him.

"How are you, Pepper, are you doing okay?" Tony asked as she tenderly held his hand.

It took some time for Pepper to gather her thoughts after being so focused on Tony. "I miss my mom," she revealed in a meek voice as her eyes reddened.

"I'm sorry...it's never easy losing a parent...or anyone," the billionaire murmured empathetically, in an attempt to repay some comfort. "You move on, but the pain is still there. I feel like after finding out the truth about my parents, it makes me miss my mom even more." Watching his wife, Tony wasn't sure what to do, but he remained there telling her about his experience of the pain she was feeling. He wanted her to know that she wasn't alone; he understood and he was there for her. Tony was only twenty-one when his parents were killed; twenty-one was an adult, but twenty-one was still someone learning about life and just a bird leaving the nest.

A tear traveled down Pepper's cheek; she took a deep breath before speaking, "I just...I think about the last thing I said to her, but I can't remember. And I wonder if it was something meaningful or not." Tony remembered every bit of his last interaction with his parents; it wasn't horrible, but it was definitely something Tony wasn't proud of and he regretted not making it a more loving goodbye.

Tony took Pepper's hand in both of his, hating to see her upset. "Your mom was an amazing person; plus, she gave me her blessing to marry you," he reprised heartfully, which made Pepper laugh until more tears fell from her eyes, trying to keep herself from crying. His thoughts drifted between Pepper, and her mother, and his mother. "Moms are superheroes...you would be a good mother if we ever had..." Tony dipped his head as he trailed off.

"In the world we live in now?" Pepper questioned rather softly yet strongly, her eyes following Tony as he gazed down.

There was a moment of contemplation, and Tony answered carefully, knowing this was a delicate subject. "If it can be fixed, but...I don't think I'd want a child growing up with Thanos looming over them." Tony was honest, but there was a grave sadness at the idea that their child's future would be in Thanos' hands.

"At least we're on the same page," Pepper's voice was dry and hesitant, but Tony knew she forced herself to say those forbidden words. Why have a child when they could spare them such suffering?

Cautiously changing the subject, Tony quipped, "Is your dad...?"

"He's okay, he's at home," Responding, Pepper wiped the tears from her eyes and sniffled, "I'm worried sick about him."

"You can go see him," the Avenger suggested.

"I know, but I told him I couldn't leave you," Pepper stated.

"Well, its okay if you go see him. It's not like I'm going anywhere," Tony encouraged, not wanting to keep Pepper if she needed to see her other family; although, it'd be a lie if Tony told her he didn't need her. His health was slowly improving, but he still had a long way to go and he both needed and wanted Pepper with him. If she left for a short time to visit her father, Tony would manage; he had the Avengers.

Pepper looked appreciative, but she affirmed, gleaming at Tony with promise, "Tony, I'm not going home without you." No matter what happened, she wasn't leaving unless Tony was with her to step off the quinjet when they returned home; Tony took that to heart and felt loved that she was going to stay with him until the end.

They both shared a warm grin before Pepper pried, "Have you given thought to what we talked about with the reactor?" During the last few days, Pepper had explained to Tony what happened with the arc reactor during the surgery; the error that nearly killed him.

"Yeah, I'll take a look at it and see if I can reprogram some things," Tony returned while redrying his hands with the towel and breaking eye contact. It hurt him knowing how much excruciating effort his wife and friends went through to save him.

"You should thank Friday for saving your life," she pressed with manner.

"It's difficult to thank her alone when there are many variables to me being alive," Tony commented, looking back up at Pepper thoughtfully, "but I will."

"Tony, you should consider keeping it shut down or take it off," Pepper tried convincing as she helped Tony adjust some of the bandages.

"I said I would," Tony winced lightly.

Her intentions were of worry, but she maintained politeness, "I mean passed recovery." Pepper pulled her hands away from Tony, sitting upright as he felt around his chest to ease some of the pain. It was distracting, but he kept his eyes on her and fell still for a disheartening minute.

"I can't with him out there, Pepper," he was discreet, with the thought he'd rather die trying than live in Thanos' utopia.

As Tony rested his elbows on his knees, Pepper pursued frankly, "Tony...maybe this is a fight you can't win."

"I have to try," Tony said with uncertainty, feeling some fear crippling his bones at the thought of facing Thanos again.

"You did and I lost you. Tony, I can't lose you again." Arguing timidly, Pepper laid offense to Tony's idea of protecting everyone except himself. "You've struggled for so long from things you've been through and things we've been through. You've fought long and hard for so many years, Tony. Please, do not wear yourself out. You've fought for redemption and protection and freedom, and believe me, Tony, you've earned it. Allow yourself the rest." The emotional opposition Pepper gave was hard to deny and it struck Tony; the thought of surrendering was tempting, but it gnawed petulantly. It left him without a response, but Pepper could see his heartbreak and trauma. She rested her elbows on her knees like Tony, and pulled one of his hands to her lips and kissed it.

They stayed like that until the next second when Thor casually walked in, and both their attention shifted towards him. "Do you ever knock?" Tony asked lightly, but the genius knew the answer to that: _no. _Too bad he didn't stay long after Ultron, Thor and Vision would have gotten along well...the moment the thought of Vision entered Tony's mind, it swiftly left.

"Not particularly," Thor replied like Tony predicted and the billionaire smirked, breaking his handholding with Pepper. They both sat upright as the Asgardian took a few further steps towards them. "How are you feeling? You look stronger."

"Eh, a bit," the billionaire mumbled.

Thor did his best to compliment, "Well, you look much more alive."

"Wow, thanks," he said dully.

"You're welcome. Oh, um..." Gesturing to the doorway that was blocked from Pepper and Tony's view, Rocket strolled in holding a holographic screen in his hands, or paws rather...yeah, Tony had met him the other day. At that point, the engineer wasn't sure if anything could get weirder, but he was prepared for anything now, even if it happened to be a singing hippo. However, Rocket was part of the Guardians, which unintentionally made both him and Tony acquainted through Quill.

"Is this really necessary?" The Avenger questioned as the raccoon halted in front of both Tony and Pepper. Nightmares still haunted Tony, but he didn't feel like he was being spied on; honestly, it wasn't unusual for Tony's mind to play tricks on him, he was aware of that through PTSD, but some of his friends were eager to know for sure.

"Knowing Thanos, it's better to be safe than sorry," Rocket noted, adjusting stuff on the screen he was holding. He didn't look up from the electronic, but he could feel Tony observing him. "What?"

That question seemed answered considering Tony had never spoken with a raccoon before, and there was a list of bantering comments building. He didn't want to sound condescending though as Rocket appeared quite brilliant. "Nothing, I'm just looking at your ears," Tony said curiously, mildly compelled to pet Rocket's fur.

"Yeah, yeah, that's what they all say," Rocket retorted offhandedly, which made Tony chuckle lightly at the Guardian's response. The laugh quickly faded though from the ache and stiffness of his lungs.

With painful concern, Tony asked, "This isn't going to hurt, is it? How does it work?"

Generously, Rocket explained, seeing Tony's faltering nervousness, "No, it just reads your brainwaves. Imagine brainwaves like a fingerprint; they all work the same, but each of ours is different and unique, like our voices. You already let us download recorded brainwaves from your suit, from before your encounter with Thanos and after. So if Thanos is tampering with you-"

"It'll show a different brain pattern," Tony finished the raccoon's sentence, quickly catching onto the bandit's plan.

"Exactly, I just..." Detaching a small square chip the size of a fingernail from the side of the screen, Rocket reached up towards Tony's head, "stick this on your temple and boom. Look, you're clean." Tony felt the technological chip for a moment before taking the screen that Rocket handed him. "See, I knew you were paranoid; totally called it."

"What is it? This is good news," Pepper confirmed to Tony's desolate and disappointed look as he examined the healthy brainwaves. What phased him was that even if Thanos was leaving Tony alone, the Mad Titan still knew who Tony was, but the Golden Avenger hadn't addressed that percussion with the others.

"Good thing, too. I would've had to kill you otherwise." They look at Thor scoldingly as the Asgardian joked, but he added to the melodramatic reaction on Tony's face, "I'm kidding."

Rocket looked back at Tony and reassured, "It's not shameful to be paranoid or afraid, Thanos ain't somebody someone normally walks away from, especially with what he did to you." Glaring over his shoulder at Thor, the raccoon snickered, "Heck, you should've seen Thor after he lost to Thanos the first time." The comment provoked Thor to scowl at the Guardian, but Rocket ignored him with a shrug.

Taking a deep, scarring breath, the encounter with Thanos kept playing on a loop in Tony's head; it brought a sharp thought of Thanos and Tony's physical pain correlating. "Where did you get this device?" Tony changed the subject, trying to loosen the memories' grasp.

"I made it," Rocket submitted.

"You built this?" Tony was in awe, pulling the chip off his temple and placing it back on the side of the screen where it was magnetic. He observed the technology.

"Yeah."

Pondering, Tony hoped he could have a chat sometime with Rocket to share their knowledge, "Damn...what else can you build?" After all, he'd already seen Thanos' technology and the technology of Quill's ship. If Tony wasn't trying to keep himself alive at the time, he would've enjoyed exploring the spacecraft.

"Almost anything, I once built a weapon that could blow up a moon." With widening eyes, Pepper and Tony sharply stared at Rocket in alarm, but Rocket cooly delivered, "Don't get all riled up, it's not like I used it."

"That is incredibly irresponsible," Pepper commented moderately, trying not to lecture.

"So is building a weaponized armored suit that blows things up," Rocket countered. The suit wasn't physically shown to the Guardian, but he saw digital diagrams of it on the quinjet after asking Tony for the scans. It had him drooling, and later Rocket pleadingly asked Tony to make one for him. Tony simply said no, but Rocket stubbornly commented that he'd make his own.

"Touche, but that's for controlled offense and protection," the engineer said.

Slyly, Rocket wasn't letting up, "Well, I could have totally used it to blow up Thanos' ship; _so_, so is my invention."

"You know, Thanos really likes to blow up moons," Vexing, Tony grew unusually agitated as the conversation began triggering unwanted thoughts. It worked though; Rocket quickly snapped his jaw shut as Tony proceeded, "And he likes to bury people under them."

Rocket, Thor, and Pepper froze, gawking at Tony pitifully. There was a stunned expression on the raccoon's face as he eyes narrowed and ears fell back in horror. "He..threw a moon at you?" Rocket mumbled in insufferable disbelief.

"You didn't tell me this," Pepper said woundedly as Tony dropped his gaze, feeling every bit of the anguishing aftermath.

Suddenly, Tony felt pressured and overwhelmed. "You know, it's fine, i-" Trying to rewind what he said about the moon, Tony fleetly sat up, still holding the screen and looking at the Asgardian, saying "Thor, why don't you get the others?"

**-o-**

Tony sat cross-legged at the foot of the bed with a pillow over his lap. Next to him was Pepper, while Rhodey stood beside them on the far side of the room, with a chair behind him. "You look so much better," the colonel told his friend as the rest of the Avengers rearranged all the furniture in the room around the end of the bed. The billionaire didn't necessarily know how to respond, but he looked up at Rhodey, hearing the contentment of his voice and tried acknowledging it.

"Thank you," Tony was hush.

"I'm serious, Tony, you looked really sick," Rhodey said.

Clint, who was resting his elbows on the back of a chair, and slowly pushing it towards them, huffed, "Oh, don't be polite. Rhodey, you don't need to tell him he didn't look well when he felt it."

Drawing his attention over to Clint, Tony praised, "Thank you. See, Clint gets it." The archer exchanged an agreeing nod with Tony as he left to help Steve and Natasha move the couch; not that Captain America couldn't move a couch, but why leave them out of the fun while in a public place.

"You're doing okay today, though, right?" Bruce questioned as he walked up to them and stopped by the side of the bed nearest to the door. "You seem a bit more like yourself."

"Yes, today's actually an okay day," Tony supplied.

"That's good, Tony; I'm just glad there's a bit of sunshine now," the scientist signified.

The word sunshine almost made Tony laugh with irony, but instead, he grimaced doubtfully. "Let's not call it sunshine, let's say it stopped both hailing and downpouring," the Avenger corrected because he didn't feel like sunshine. Bruce gave Tony an understanding look, but the billionaire quickly moved on while motioning with his hands. "Alright, anyway, come, come, around the campfire; I'm going to tell you a ghost story."

When the furniture was in place, everybody sat down, aside from Thor who leaned with his back against the wall as Rocket stood on a chair. They all watched Tony with patience while he pressed his palms together like he was praying and rested his forehead against them with closed eyes. He was trying to collect himself because he could feel his heart starting to beat nervously; he could feel the darkness and shadows trying to drown him as he searched for a place to begin. Rubbing his hands together, Tony looked up at them after inhaling a sharp breath. "Okay...so, I'm sure you're filled in with..." Cutting himself off, Tony got tongue-tied and anxiously rubbed his face in his palms.

"Take your time." He heard someone say, but he didn't care to figure out who's voice it was because it could've been his own. He didn't know, this was all overwhelming.

Finally, Tony pulled his hands off his face and sighed, "You know what, I'm going to start from the beginning: Pepper and I were in Central Park when Bruce and Strange showed up asking for help. They explained to me what was happening and that Thanos was coming. I was about to call you when the ship showed up." Tony's attention turned from Steve to Bruce, who mirrored the feeling of seeing that colossal ship over Manhattan. "It was right there above us, and we, obviously, got into a fight. One of Thanos'...uh..henchman was ready to deliver a blow to me when Peter jumped in between us and stopped him. He mentioned he was on a field trip and..." Pausing briefly, Tony closed his eyes, almost in denial about how much Peter helped out and without him there could've been more casualties. "So, they ended up getting Strange, and Peter went after him while I was busy with the other guy. They were starting to get beamed up, so I went after them because Peter was hanging off the side of the ship and losing air. I gave him a breathable suit and thought Friday had sent him back to the ground, but he stowaway."

Tony swallowed, upset while feeling the sympathy in the room. "I told him being on that ship was a one-way ticket, but there was nothing I could do to send him back, so we managed to save Strange. Afterward, Strange and I got into an argument about what to do because the ship was on autopilot. I could've turned it around, but I had the idea that Thanos wouldn't expect an assault on his turf and we had the Time Stone," the genius told meticulously, remembering his conversation with Peter about the one-way ticket; the feeling that they weren't going home was still so real and sometimes it was surreal when Tony woke up here on Earth, safe...he didn't feel safe.

"So you went alone?" Steve thoroughly pieced together, but there was a slivered tone buried deep in his voice that came off patronizing; or at least, it came off patronizing to Tony.

"Don't patronize me," Scowling darkly, Tony restrictedly snapped and many of his friends sat there, looking taken aback at Tony's tone. "We didn't have a lot of options and keeping the stones apart seemed like a better idea."

"I wasn-"

"Yes, you were," Tony retorted impatiently, "What the hell do you want from me, Steve? I was in space. God, you just don't give up..." Tony _knew_ Steve, and sometimes he just didn't know when to give up on finding Tony's faults. Steve respected Tony, but sometimes the billionaire questioned that when Steve acted so innocent and everything he did was right and correct.

Everything suddenly grew incredibly awkward, and everybody looked uncomfortable at the unwanted tension. "Okay, let's...continue," Rhodey slipped in, trying to remain mutual, knowing very well what happened the last time Tony and Steve got into a fight.

After a lasting scowl, Tony broke his glare on the super soldier when he felt Pepper's hand on his shoulder, and he continued, "So, we ended up having issues with the ship and we crash landed on Titan; and...it's completely barren and in ruin, like there was a nuclear war," Tony ruminated, vividly glimpsing in memory at the amber red skies hovering over a destroyed civilization. The thought made Tony hope with all his might that this didn't happen to Earth. "Anyway, we ran into Peter Quill, who's..actually from Earth."

"What?" Shifting his eyes towards Clint from his reaction, Tony silently caught a flash of regret holding onto Steve. Bitterness still seared through Tony's veins, though, and he ignored the Captain.

"Yeah, Quill's from Earth," Tony flicked his attention to Guardian, who had his arms crossed, "Rocket, how'd Quill get out there?"

"If you want to hear the full story, you're going to have to wait; it's a rather long and complicated one," the raccoon compressed, uncrossing his arms and becoming soft with his voice, asking, "Was Gamora with them at this time?"

"No, but they were looking for her," Tony replied, "We ended up coordinating a plan and..." Feeling his chest growing heavy and tight, Tony wheezed once as his anxiety increased, remembering exactly how everything played out...and he was here having to tell the Avengers what happened. It still felt too soon for Tony, but they'd been waiting patiently. "So, when Thanos got there...we engaged in combat and that's when Nebula joined us...Where is she, is she still here?" Tony glanced at Bruce, trying to calm and distract himself because in his mind he privately panicked.

"Yes, she's still here," Natasha responded.

"She ain't much of a people person, though. Plus, she's been working on sending out transmissions to see who's left out there," Rocket said, "So, you were saying?"

The Avenger's course redirected from person to person as he told, "She crashed into Thanos with a pod, and all of us together; there were seven of us, and we were able to pin him down, and the.." Taking a labored breath, Tony looked at Rocket. "Rocket, who's the girl? With the green and the-" Breaking off from his sentence, Tony pantomimed antennas with his fingers.

"Mantis?" Rocket presumed.

"Yes, her," Painstakingly, Tony continued, "She was able to keep him under...we all had him..." Tony croaked, but he had to stop himself for a moment...he didn't know if he could do this, this was far worse then he imagined. Unfocused, he gradually said, "God, we had him...I had the gauntlet in my hand and I was trying to pull it off his hand and I called Parker over to help me and..." Resting his face in his hands, Tony dropped everything he was saying and breathed rigidly as he gingerly fought the panic.

Without moving from his position, he heard Pepper whisper to him, "Do you need a break?" He didn't know why she whispered, they were all in ear range. This was horrible; he was trying to swallow the birthing of a panic attack and everybody was sitting there. A single heartbeat felt like millions of years, but nobody touched him or spoke to him, and he was left to the darkness created by his hands.

"No...no, it's fine," Tony sniffed and sensitively rubbed his eyes, "You're all here; might as well get it over with...just give me a minute..." The billionaire couldn't resist a rough moan, but not of pain, of aggravation; he didn't care how loud it was or that he could feel all of their eyes worriedly on him. Then with tranquility, Tony took a breath and removed his hands from his face, but he kept his gaze on the pillow in his lap. "During this time, Quill arrogantly started interrogating Thanos and found out he sacrificed Gamora for the Soul Stone." Rocket's expression fell as he grew distraught and eyed the floor sorrowfully. Tony hated to tell the raccoon the truth, but the engineer was honest. "Quill was pissed and started egging on Thanos, I tried talking him down, I...I told him not to engage because we almost had the gauntlet off..." Hesitance and distance trifled Tony's voice, "But he didn't listen, he started hitting Thanos and that caused Mantis to lose her concentration. I ended up letting go to stop Quill; Peter basically had the gauntlet off his hand, but Thanos..came too and..."

"Did he...kill..is that when-" Steve's voice was friendly this time and Tony felt comfortable with that. When Tony gazed up he saw this look in their eyes like they were bracing themselves for the part when Tony got stabbed.

"No, when he left us I was the only one injured, everybody else was fine," Tony said clearly and with strength; honestly, they all looked way more intimidated then Tony was, "But when he snapped awake, he had control of the gauntlet again. He did something to the others that left them unconscious aside from Peter, Strange, and I. He...God, he..put his hand up like this." Grimacing with a throaty wince, Tony imitated Thanos grabbing the moon. "He grabbed the moon just by closing his fist, he broke it up into fragments and sent these asteroids towards us." The others were staring at Tony with inconceivable shock and terror of what their friend experienced and was describing to them. "It was..unreal...The others were able to escape the debris, but I got buried under tons and tons of rock. I mean," Tony painfully and crucially gestured to his body, "you've seen what it did to me. When I broke free from the rubble, Strange was down and Thanos was trying to get the Time Stone from him. I'm not sure where Peter was, but I attacked Thanos...and..." Tony fluttered his eyes shut as he closed his mouth; anxiously, he tapped the pillow with his fingers..._You're not the only one burdened with knowledge..._

"You don't have to continue," Clint murmured as Tony's stress unforgivingly strangled him, "we know what happened." Hawkeye's words nearly went straight through Tony's skull as he refused to rest his fidgeting hand...he couldn't bring himself to tell them that Thanos knew him. He had to, but he couldn't, not yet...it was just...it was _too_ personal for Tony's comfort. Even if it wasn't personal, it felt personal; he mentally wasn't ready to tell them that yet.

"No, you don't," Tony groused, snapping out of his contained trance, but the last of what he told was torture getting out, "It was just Thanos and me, we both fought. I managed to cut him..and he said...There were a lot of things he said to me that'll haunt me forever, but he said, _'All that for a drop of blood.'_ After that, he started to advance on me and he wasn't letting up; I was...giving it my all and he kept backing me into a corner, and I just...I knew things weren't going to end well." Dropping his gaze, Tony mouthed _shit_ as he forced himself to lowly speak while the Avengers, Thor, and Rocket listened tentatively and empathetically. "So, I pulled out the sword thinking I could at least do some damage to him, but he intercepted the move...he caught my arm..he broke off the blade and...turned it on me..." Tony breathed, feeling a grueling chill lick his spine, "He...uh...s- when I was on the ground, he had that gauntlet feet from my face and...he was ready to kill me with it, but then...Strange offered Thanos the Stone in order to spare my life." Squinting his eyes shut, Tony slightly angled his head down and to the side as if somebody was going to strike him. "I begged him...I told him not to, it wasn't worth it. When we were on that ship together, he said if it came down between Peter or me versus the Stone, Strange would save the Stone. So I...I don't understand either."

Tony held his breath, expecting someone to shout or curse at him, blaming him for being alive instead of all of those who died; Clint's family, Wanda, Vision, Sam, Bucky, Pepper's mom, and so many others. "Did he say anything about why he..." The Avenger flinched at feeling Pepper's comforting hand on his back and her soothing voice. "Tony..." Tony ignored her as she tried getting him to look at her. There was a sudden mood change in the room and it felt kinder as they saw Tony's behavior shift and realized what kind of burden Tony was left with; he was ashamed at being alive because of it.

"Tony, are you afraid we'll be mad at you?" Bruce asked sadly, now standing while Natasha, Steve, and Clint exchanged gloomy looks.

"This isn't your fault," Rhodey said, but Tony still didn't look at them.

"Tony, we aren't mad at you," Clint repined, getting up and standing at the edge of the bed. Normally, the Avengers messed with each other and half-heartedly joked and gave each other a hard time, but they graciously let Tony have the moment and it would be vowed silent between them.

He still didn't look up, but he whispered after wheezing heavily, "It wasn't worth it, he should've let me go...he should've let me die." A few tears rolled down Tony's cheek and he was trying to resist the constriction in his throat...they were all in that room with him and the only way to keep himself from crying was to talk. "You...you can't understand this...this burden." Nobody said anything, nobody _could_ say anything; Tony's pain was something they couldn't relate to anymore, it was on a scale that measured the universe. Within another minute, Tony groaned, "There's more..." That was a cringy sentence; after what they heard, they weren't sure how much more they could take, not even Natasha. "Before Thanos got to Titan, Strange used the Stone to look into the future at all the possible outcomes of the conflict. He saw fourteen million, six hundred and five alternate outcomes."

Those words hit hard like the door to a bottomless pit had opened and they were in free fall. "Oh my God..." Bruce and Clint nearly chorused as Tony cracked open his eyes, hearing Steve get up and pace the room.

"That's a lot of outcomes," Natasha said with a panicked tone, which phased Tony as all of them processed this information.

"How many did we win?" Thor asked, and when the question was out they held their breath and stared at Tony for an answer.

"One," Tony asserted weakly, and he heard gasps and curses...he was pretty sure somebody threw something at the wall. Wiping the drying tears from his eyes, Tony finally looked up; Thor, Rocket, and Bruce remained standing, Steve was on the far side of the room, Natasha and Clint were both on the couch and the archer had buried his face in a pillow.

Stepping down from the chair he stood on, Rocket aimlessly wandered in the empty space where the furniture was. "So much for trying to be hopeful," he hissed grimly.

"So, it's over...how do we know we've lost that one chance?" Rhodey quipped.

"Did Strange say anything else to you, Tony? Maybe giving up the Stone was part of the one way that we won," Steve made his way back to the group, denying at letting all dread seep through the cracks. He saw the dismay on Tony's face.

"When he gave up the Stone, I asked him why he did it and he said _'We're in the end game now'_. Then before he...disappeared, he told me _'there was only one way.'_" Tony recoiled slightly, growing overwhelmed and laying his head back in his hands, feeling depressed and developing a migraine. "I've been trying to analyze it all, but it's...it's been hard to think straight with everything going on," he muttered.

"Tony, have you considered that maybe handing over the Stone and you needing to live was part of the way to winning? You said it yourself that Strange said if it was between you and the Stone, he'd save the Stone. Strange seems like someone who would stick to their word," Bruce hypothesized, knowing that Strange had to have done what he did for a reason. That statement seemed to raise people's heads.

"So, you're saying people had to die in order for us to win? Do you hear yourself?" Clint nipped at the scientist, pulling the pillow down from his face irritatedly, "How do we know that that one variable for us to win wasn't here on Earth with the Mind Stone?"

"If this guy...Strange, looked into the future, then he obviously knew how Thanos would get the Mind Stone with the Time Stone," Rocket mentioned, understanding that Quill acted out in the heat of the moment, but pissed that his friend pulled such an idiotic stunt and got himself killed. "Either way, why didn't he just give you a heads up to what needed to happen or ease Quill before you guys almost got the gauntlet?"

"That's a good point," Pepper supported as Rocket pulled himself up to stand on the back of the couch.

"Maybe he didn't tell you, because he knew we wouldn't be willing to make such a sacrifice to win," the Widow said, directing her next words to Tony in hopes to make him feel better, but his head was still laying on its side in his propped hands. "Tony wouldn't, you'd argue against it. You'd try finding some other way."

Tony professed tiredly, "I just...I don't like." He shifted his head, covering his mouth as he roughly coughed and felt Pepper rub his back. Everything seemed to pause; people's movement and chatter, to be sure he was okay, but when he caught his breath and the coughing lessened, they continued.

"Neither do I," the archer agreed with Tony, laying with his feet up on the couch; nobody liked that thought. "Even if we are in the scenario to win, how the heck are we gonna do that? We have no Stones, no gauntlet..."

"Tony, did Thanos or Strange say anything else to you? Anything that could help us?" Natasha asked, but Tony had rested his head back in his hands and wasn't answering. "Tony?"

"No..." he growled as his frustrations grew.

"Tony, Rocket had some fair assumptions that Thanos may have an interest in you. He didn't say anything to you that indicated that?" Bruce extended the question, which made Tony feel like he was getting interrogated.

Clenching his jaw, Tony annoyingly sighed, but he looked up at them and berated, "I just...this is a lot to process. Okay? Ugh...these lights are fucking bright." Tony rubbed at his watering eyes and admitted, "Is...it was intense. Okay? I mean, it was _really_ bad and I'm still trying to digest everything. Can we just call it a day? I told you everything." They all watched him for a moment, knowing the emotional toll it took to tell them what happened out there. Things had been put together, missing pieces made sense now, thanks to Tony; it was hard to imagine and comprehend how Tony faced all that, but he made it out.

"It's okay, we can stop," Bruce said tenderly, "I think we've heard enough. Friday, did you get all that?"

"Yes, Dr. Banner, everything's been recorded," Friday ratified.

The scientist ordered, "Good, send everything to Shuri; she deserves to know what happened since Wakanda aided us in the battle." He then went to help move all the furniture back, knowing Tony needed time alone. While adjusting his glasses, he saw Steve approach Tony.

"Tony...I'm.." Steve began apologetically, realizing that Tony was placed in harrowing decisions and everything the Golden Avenger did was right and honorable and brave. The soldier didn't want Tony thinking that all this death was his fault and it was an unbearable burden he was carrying; a burden that they may never be able to lift.

Tony was too drained to train his eyes on Steve, but he wasn't in the mood to hear whatever the Captain had to say. "I died protecting that Stone because I had something worth fighting for," Tony murmured unconditionally and in a tone that made Steve feel like he got shot through the heart. When he gazed over his shoulder, he realized everyone else in the room heard what Tony said. "I don't want to seem rude, but could you please leave?" The billionaire asked with temperance, and Steve gazed at his friend somberly. "Just...everyone, except Pepper and Rhodey; it's too loud in here." Bruce gawked at Tony with melancholy and the others soon found the look, but they honored the request and left.

* * *

**to be continued...**


	10. The Ones Left Behind

**ORIGINAL MANUSCRIPT || REWRITE IS BEING POSTED AT DEAR MR FANTASY**

* * *

**A Painful Reunion**

10 of ?

The Ones Left Behind

* * *

Eyeing Thanos' spiking domes that transported the mutts, Rocket hovered over the battlefield about a hundred and fifty feet from one. An irritated and annoyed look puzzled his face as his jet-pack kept him steady. This technology was different from what he was used to, but in the end, technology was technology; he'd figure it out eventually, it was just taking an unpleasant amount of time while they were meaning to move hastily. Both his own devices and Stark's AI, Friday, were analyzing the alien transporters. Rocket was offered one of Stark's device that would allow Friday to be in the Guardian's range. The AI was quite baffled at the unknown systems, but was downloading information from Rocket's technology and was quickly catching on.

From what both could tell, the transporters required a large amount of energy to move them, but they were only transporters, not entire ships. Rocket, Thor, Nebula, and the rest of the humans were developing a plan to set up beacons to alert them of Thanos' army's location and if they were headed to Earth. Doing that though, Rocket knew they would need to set up beacons on other planets and make a technological chain-link so they could know days in advance if Thanos was targeting the planet. It was just a matter of executing and fleshing out such a plan, especially the number of beacons they needed to supply both Earth and other locations in space. That job was left mainly to Rocket, Nebula, and Thor since their combined power was the most knowledgeable about space and different technologies. Bruce and Tony offered some pointers, but the billionaire was still recovering and lacked much strength to lend help at the moment. Meanwhile, the other humans were dealing with Earth stuff, Rocket guessed.

"I'm detecting high energy signatures at the top and base of the structure," Friday noted to Rocket, seeing the transporter's structure displayed through the holographic screen the raccoon was holding.

"Yeah, I'm seeing that. That's probably where the transporters are operated and it's power source," Rocket mumbled with disappointment, not retrieving all the information he was hoping for. "Hey, Thor, I'm going to go inside and explore to see if I can figure this out. Meet me at the base at the one I'm at." After finishing his sentence, Rocket flew towards the ground and came to hover near one of the doors to the transporter. He waited a few moments for Thor to join him since the Asgardian was checking out the top of the structures himself while waiting for Rocket; luckily the mother ship had left the transporters, giving Rocket time to figure these things out and use them against the Black Order. He had destroyed a few days ago, but they called off taking out the transporters in case Rocket could make beneficial use out of them. The archer had even come with them to check out the structures, but he wandered off...yeah, that was really helpful. "Could you make an entrance for me? Just be careful, don't damage it too much," the Guardian prompted Thor when he finally reached the base where Rocket was.

"Do you want me to go with you? There could still be mutts inside." Thor asked once he broke the door open. "Or even get Barton..."

"Eh..." Rocket replied when he hovered just inside the door and gazed up. "This isn't exactly a typical ship...this is a transporter, so there are compartments and no real hallways or corridors." Examining the interior, Rocket discovered a long cylinder pathway rising far beyond his sight to the top of the transporter. Compartments for the mutts were aligned along it, but he didn't see any real way to go up there besides flying. Beside him, standing on the ground, Thor saw what the raccoon was talking about. "I'll take a look around and see if I can get to the power source. Just stay out here for right now, Friday isn't picking up any life signatures."

"Be careful," the Asgardian warned and Rocket patted his belt full of weaponry with a smirk before he ascended through the cylinder. As he rose, he noticed hundreds of compartments and each one had a light above it, which Rocket guessed opened and sealed the chambers. A thought came to mind of perhaps harvesting the lights from the sockets, maybe turning those into the beacons. Continuing up, Rocket realized the transporter was designed into sections and at the break between sections were pathways where the energy ran through, and there seemed to be tunnels designed for somebody to go through.

"Thor, I think I found a way to get to the power source. These transporters were designed so they didn't have to be operated manually, but there are trails in case workers needed to fix something, I guess," the Guardian explained through the comm, "I'm going in."

_"Are you sure that's for workers then? What if the power turns on?"_

"Well, hopefully, it's doesn't," Rocket said, knowing he'd get charred if it did. Crawling through the tunnel and doing his best to follow the directory from his devices and Friday, Rocket spent a few minutes figuring out if he was in the main energy line or not. He came to tunnels that branched off, but the one he was in was the largest, so the raccoon assumed it was the right way to go and continued following it on all fours with a light from his suit. For a moment, he paused and sneezed from the dust that lined the tunnels and made the air stuffy. "These people suck at sanitation," he commented to Thor as he inched towards the light leaking through at the end of the tunnel, "Gosh, it's worse than the Milano."

_"Have you reached the source?" _

"Yeah, yeah, I'm working on it," Rocket returned as he reached the edge of the tunnel and looked down about twenty-five feet to see glass flooring that layered between the different levels. Staring at the long drop below the two glass walkways surrounding the power source, Rocket gulped. With his jet-pack, he safely landed on the circular bridge and pulled out his screen to analyze the device. "Okay. So...," he trailed off, overlooking the complicated control panel in front of him, "Friday, you may want to pay attention..this is a lot of...ugh." Sneering in disgust, Rocket starting messing around with it, finding the controls that operated the compartments.

_"Rocket? How's it going?" _Thor asked after the long silence over the comm as Rocket worked.

"Okay, so I broke the transporter's connection to the main ship, but it's still online and connected to the other transporters here on Earth," the Guardian stated as he lowered the power shield surrounding the source. There, in the center of the source was an orb that had technical lines of energy running across it. "We have all the tech here to make the beacons, but I need to think about this and analyze all this stuff for a moment, but our plan should work."

_"What else do you need? How long do you think this will take?"_

Confirming the area was safe to enter, Rocket hovered into the space, picking up the orb. "There's this orb here that is the central control. I'm go-" Abruptly stopping, Rocket perked his ears and sniffed before fleetly glancing over his shoulder as the mutt launched at him with a ravaging and bloodthirsty snarl. Rocket wasn't quick enough; he bared his teeth with a startled cry as the mutt slammed into his side, sending both of them crashing against the power source's structure and hitting the glass floor. With a grunt, Rocket gasped and watched as the orb rolled towards the opening between the walkways. Scowling with frustration, Rocket grabbed a gadget off his belt and threw it behind him with a yelp when he felt the mutt mindlessly claw at his leg. It let go as the gadget electrocuted the creature, giving the Guardian the chance to reboot the jetpack and grab the orb, rolling off the platform with it.

He fell for a brief moment before he levitated and pulled out a gun while holding onto the orb. Aiming it up at the glass under the mutt, Rocket opened fire, but as it shattered the mutt lept to the walkway's metal siding and lunged down towards the Guardian. It was shot several times, but that didn't stop it from clutching Rocket's leg as he tried moving away and the creature's weight pulled him down to the second level of walkways. Their momentum striking the glass sent it splintering, but Rocket held fast with a whimper to the metal structure as the mutt fell to its death. With a groan, Rocket rested his chin on the rafter; he held onto it with one hand while tightly grasping the orb against his chest.

_"Rocket?"_ The Asgardian called through the comm with concern, probably having heard the struggle.

"No life signatures except for that one..." Rocket croaked, catching his breath as the jetpack landed him on a stable walkway. "Ouch," he murmured, looking down at his leg where a bit of blood soaked his fur.

* * *

"Well, this was stupid," Rocket huffed as he limped over to Nebula and set the orb and one of the light devices he detached from a compartment on the table she was working at. Gesturing to his leg, he complained, "Look at this!"

Nebula didn't bother to look, still focused on the screens in front of her, but she remarked, "What are you complaining about?" With a retaliating hiss, Rocket glared at the woman as he walked off to tend to his leg. He really couldn't deal with her insensitivity right now when his dead friends were still on his mind, and it was denying; no, they can't be dead, they aren't dead, they'll walk onto this ship any moment. In fact, as the days progressed it was getting harder to swallow the idea that they were all gone. The first couple of days Rocket managed, but he was beginning to miss their company. On top of that, he had to worry and deal with creating a system that could detect Thanos worlds away, and now the leg. Every little thing added up and Rocket felt like he was nearing the edge of his sanity.

"There's still no word?" The Guardian quipped as he sat down on a bench with a damp cloth and wiped off his leg.

"Just dead silence," Nebula answered.

Depressingly sighing, Rocket rubbed ointment over the stinging gash in his leg. "I was hoping for something more...hopeful," he grimaced, keeping his eyes focused on the wound. "I at least expected the Ravagers to respond, wherever they are."

"Yeah, well, maybe it'd help if we weren't just sitting here," the cyborg growled.

Defensively, Rocket retorted, "I take it was a smart move to lock you out of the ship's systems, on my part." Both Nebula and Rocket exchanged a challenging glance as the raccoon continued. "You're the one who said Thanos was unstoppable. So, you know what I'm doing? Trying to work out a plan. If you have something better, Nebula, be my guest and tell me." Sternly, Rocket got to his feet with a wince, starting to wrap his leg with bandages as he spoke. "Oh, wait, you do have a plan: go in guns blazing. Now, I would love to shoot Thanos in the face until there's nothing left, but I'd rather have it work. I'd rather not risk my life if he's still standing at the end of the day. Revenge is _killing_ him, Nebula, not trying to kill him and fail. Look what happened on Titan! They all had a plan, and Quill had to go screw it up!" Rocket's voice was rising to anger as he stood upright to face Nebula; the thought that one action changed everybody's fate bled through his mind. Quill was his friend, and one wrong move by Quill got his entire team killed...although, in the heat of the moment, Rocket might've made the same mistake. "It was an organized plan; Stark told us. Look what happened to him! I'd rather not end up like Stark if I can help it and unless it leaves Thanos dead." The words were provoking Nebula and a dark, furious look crossed her face and she snorted mockingly while fisting the table and shooting a look towards Rocket. With his ears flattening against his head and hurtfully breaking his eye contact with Nebula, he began cleaning up the medical supplies to make himself look busy. "But if you want to go on a suicide mission, then go ahead, I'm not stopping you, but to hell with you if you take my ship. I've got nobody left, so I'm staying here where I at least have someone, and where I can at least try doing something."

Pissed off, Nebula grabbed something off the table and threw it at the wall where if fractured into pieces. "Hey! You can't just break my stuff!" Rocket barked at her as she stormed off. "Yeah, go ahead, run away, Nebula! Nobody wants you!" He yelled to her back as she went downstairs to the ramp, adding, "If you need to kill something, there may be more fucking space dogs in those transporters!" When she was gone, Rocket snarled and brought a fist down on the bench he was standing in front of. Taking a deep breath, he buried his face in his hands with a mournful whine...he missed his friends and he knew Nebula was upset about Gamora too. They wanted the same revenge, but Nebula wasn't one for patience, she wanted the revenge here and now. Rocket understood that and he suddenly felt guilty about his harsh words towards her. Sorrowfully, Rocket strode over to the table and pulled himself onto a chair where he rested his head on his arms. He stared at the orb and the device with it, trying to seek out his motivation, but it was dying in the face of this tragedy.

* * *

"Tony?" It took a moment, but the Golden Avenger glanced at Bruce who stood in the doorway to the hospital room. The engineer didn't answer, lost in deep thought as he sat at the foot of the hospital bed. Sympathetically, Bruce saw his friend's troubled daze and took a few steps towards him. "Why don't we get you out of here, you've been discharged," Bruce mentioned, holding up the records in his hand for indication, "Are you ready?" It'd been fifteen days, and while the hospital was hesitant at letting Tony go just yet, on the border of whether to be discharged or not, Bruce convinced Ada for the discharge, knowing the genius was growing antsy and needed a change in environment.

"Yeah," Tony muttered dishearteningly as he got to his feet. Opening the backpack that was sitting next to him, holding what few belongings he had, Bruce handed him the files. When they were tucked away in the backpack, Tony closed it and gave it to the scientist. Tony would've carried it himself, but Bruce was giving him a cautious, disapproving look that told the billionaire not to push himself and ease back into daily activities.

"Mr. Stark." Both the men looked towards the door as Ada walked up to them and stopped. "It's good to see you finally getting out of here."

"Yes," Tony said humbly, holding out his hand to shake hers, "thank you for all you've done for me."

"You're welcome," the woman replied, "But no need to get all sappy, I'll be seeing you at follow up appointments. Until then...good luck, considering our situation."

The three of them shared a mutual moment of harrowing silence, before Bruce voiced subtly, "We'll do what we can. Please, take care of yourself, Ada."

"Thank you," she responded graciously, before exiting with an acknowledging nod. Exchanging an empathetic glance, Bruce laid a friendly hand on Tony's shoulder as they moved towards the door, but removed it once they left the room.

A surreal trance surrounded Tony like pressure in deep water as the two Avengers walked side by side down the corridor. All this still wasn't real, it was uncomprehending, and Tony had several thoughts that this was still a nightmare; he'd wake up any moment, and everything would be all right. The ones he loved and cared for would still be alive, the impaling wound wouldn't exist, and all his worries would be on whether his wedding was before or after the decoy date. "When we go out to the flight pad, they're going to give you an oxygen mask, okay? It's just until we get on the quinjet because of the humidity and altitude." Bruce gazed at Tony worriedly a few times, seeing the distant and distraught look in Tony's eyes. The words didn't even seem to reach his ears, making Bruce call to his friend sharply, but with gentleness. "Tony?"

"Hm?" Distractedly, Tony flicked his eyes over to Bruce.

"Hey," Bruce prodded the back of his hand against Tony's bicep to halt both of them, "Did you hear me?"

He angled himself slightly towards Tony as he provided an answer, "..uh..something about humidity." As Tony spoke, he avoided eye contact with Bruce for the most part while he anxiously fidgeted with his hands.

"Tony," Bruce began, seeing the emotional wear and tear of trauma on his friend's face, "You know you can talk to me, right?"

The scientist wasn't sure what kind of reaction he'd get from Tony, but the billionaire lowly mused with satire, "Yeah, I'll talk when the others talk. Believe me, I'm not the only one who needs a therapist. I've tried that and it's just..."

"It's just what, Tony?" Bruce listened encouragingly as Tony struggled for words.

"People don't _get_ it," Tony huffed harshly in expanding frustration. No matter how hard therapists tried, they would never understand the things Tony had seen. Maybe now they could, but he doubted it.

"Tony, we've faced a lot of evils and a lot of horrors," he affirmed, "more than most people have in their lifetimes."

"And what about you? How are you holding up?" Tony contributed edgily. "What about Natasha? Cap? Clint? Thor? But now everyone's suffered something, so why are you so worried about me?" Gesturing towards himself by tapping on his chest, Tony eyed Bruce with an overwhelmingly confused expression.

"Because you're my friend, Tony, and I know you," Bruce uttered sincerely, pausing for a moment, "I realize that you've seen things we haven't. I know you've been fighting this battle before we even saw it coming and I know how terrifying it feels to exhaustively fight something alone when nobody else sees it...I'm saying that through my experience in sharing my body with another person, but I was there when Thanos attacked the Asgardian vessel, I saw the vastness and ruthlessness of those ships. I can only imagine your fear when you went through that wormhole and saw that." That word was potent and Tony cringed hearing it as those memories and all the horrors that came after it flashed through his mind. He rubbed his forehead, understanding and considering Bruce's care and concern for the genius. "I care about you, Tony, and I'm here. It's painful for me to come back here and see my friends torn apart and scattered, and I can't just...we need to fix this and if we can't fix the Snap, then fine...but us as friends, as a team, we need to fix that, otherwise that is the real loss." Running his hand through his hair and down his neck, Tony glanced up at Bruce with empathy on the powerful and meaningful subject. It was a wonder though, how they would survive through this.

"Do you mind if we," Tony pantomimed for them to keep walking with a constricting throat and reddening eyes, "you're making me misty-eyed in a hospital hallway."

Seeing themselves standing in the middle of the hospital corridor, talking publicly (not that anybody was listening), they reached the elevator. The ride up to the flight pad was silent and felt excruciatingly long as Tony coughed heavily a few times, the pain searing his ribs. Today was hardly the best day for functioning as Tony only stared off in thought, still processing and counting the days. Bruce endlessly kept an eye on his ailing friend, knowing the trouble and burden and guilt laying on their shoulders and Tony's shoulders. "Do you want to talk about Peter?" Bruce asked as they stepped out from the elevator and into a large lobby before one of the flight pads. Saying the name alone made Tony freeze and look like he was in pain. The scientist's eyes widened with sympathy when Tony quickly got choked up and was low-key restraining himself from a breakdown. "Tony, I'm sorry, I didn...he really meant something to you."

Tony swallowed and took a deep breath, glaring off at nothing to calm himself. "It should've been me, not him. He's the one who should be standing here," Tony muttered with faltering control.

"I know," Bruce spoke with condolence, realizing how much Tony cared for this high-schooler that the Bruce had met for a brief moment. It was a pain far greater than anything Bruce had seen Tony express so willingly.

"I don't even know if his aunt or friends are still alive," Tony murmured, imagining having to go up to someone's parent or friend, explaining to them that their child and friend was dead; and the news spreading from one family member to the next, and one friend to the next. That pain scarred the engineer's soul, remembering when he was told of his parent's death by the authorities. He could hardly bring himself to telling his relatives and friends. "If they are, how do I..."

"I'm sorry, Tony," Bruce whispered, not knowing what more to say to heal the Avenger from this sorrow. "I'm s-"

"Dr. Banner, Mr. Stark?" A Wakandan man broke in, walking up to the two of them. "Sorry to interrupt, but we need the flight pad cleared soon for an incoming aircraft." Proceeding respectfully, Tony was given an oxygen mask and put on sunglasses before they opened the doors to the outside. Tony wanted to choke, just feeling the humidity's pressure against his weakened body; it was the first time he'd been outside since the surgery. The sun's strong rays made him squint intensely and the thoughts of the desert came to him as Bruce gingerly escorted him across the blacktop and up the quinjet's ramp.

Pausing for a split second, Tony had to force his way up the ramp and once he was inside the aircraft he created, it wasn't the same. He felt lightheaded and sick seeing the place where he laid bleeding to death. The blood was gone, though, washed away and spotless as if nothing happened. When Tony observed the table in the center of the quinjet, he saw that the sword was gone too. For a moment, he felt his mind slip to a wanted timeline where all that happened hadn't really happened, it was a normal day stepping onto the jet; he'd awoken from the nightmare. All until he heard the ramp shut behind him and Bruce walked past him towards the cockpit. Tony pulled the mask and sunglasses off his face and set them down on the table before he cautiously, and paranoidly walked around the area he was dying at. He passed it and advanced further down the wing until he found what he was looking for: the sword. It was encased separately in a glass weapons compartment.

An eerie, dark chill left goosebumps on Tony's arms as he stared loathing and tortuously at his technological weapon that pierced him. Normally, ingenious thoughts would leak into the billionaire's mind, but it was empty and barren. "Can I do something?" Bruce's voice gently penetrated the grueling moment, seeing Tony still struggling in his mental battle.

"It's too late for that," Tony repined dispirited, knowing this damage he and the ones left behind endured would never heal to it's fullest. Things would never be the same again, ever. Parts of themselves died in this catastrophic event, and they were never going to get those parts of their souls back; they ceased to exist, just like the real souls that had passed on before their time. "Can you show me where the battle was?"

"Of course," Bruce was solemn, skeptical at Tony's hopelessness. Remaining in the wing, Tony continued to stare at the sword for several moments before he reluctantly turned his back on it. When Tony was settled, he slouched in the seat, observing his hands, remembering Peter dying in his arms; turning to dust and seeping through the Avenger's bloody fingers. The billionaire's left arm felt numb and trembled involuntarily; it made Tony scowl in frustration and he huffed. He hurt everywhere, his body tolled with the physical damage it took to being Ironman for a decade. The looks had passed around on his friends' faces while in the ICU and it made him question if he'd ever be able to use the suit again. "Tony, come here." The words pulled the man from his thoughts and his attention shifted to the cockpit, where Bruce called.

Achingly getting to his feet with an exhausted sigh, Tony went over to Bruce as asked and held onto a railing while looking out the window. As the quinjet pulled out of the city limits, they were flying over the field. The enormous damage wasn't hard to miss as the field laid torn and burned. Tony's eyes then saw the transporters, standing high like skyscrapers. A few Wakandan aircrafts surrounded them at the base. "This is what Rocket's working on?" Tony quipped.

"Yeah," Bruce replied, slowing the jet down and circling around the alien structure for a better view.

"Hey, when did you get so good at piloting?" The billionaire asked, but Bruce merely scoffed. "There's probably a lot I need to get up to speed on, huh?" Tony delivered quietly, not knowing much on how the rest of Earth was doing and what plans were being made. It was understood that Pepper, Natasha, Rhodey, and Steve were dealing with that chaos on the Avengers' behalf, but Tony was left out of those stresses since his agenda and the Avengers' agenda for him was recovery.

"We will, Tony," the scientist reassured.

Flying along the jungle borders, the quinjet passed further down the field as Bruce was ready to head back to the city. Just before Tony turned to leave the cockpit, he saw the figure step out from the vegetation. "Hey, we know that guy," Tony murmured, recognizing the Stark bow in the man's hands from anywhere. Bruce scowled, suspiciously curious as Tony pointed out the archer who was wandering around looking lost. As they landed and the ramp opened, Tony held onto a wall railing while standing in the entrance to the quinjet. "Barton!" Tony bellowed meekly and began coughing as Clint leisurely approached the jet. Bruce walked passed Tony, halfway down the ramp while Clint halted a few feet away from it.

"Is something wrong?" Clint casually asked, looking surprisingly unfocused and confused.

"No, but what are you doing all the way out here?" Bruce was kind, seeing that the Avenger was off the rails slightly.

"I just...I was.." Tony narrowed his eyes compassionately towards the archer, hearing what happened to his family.

"Why don't you come back to the penthouse with us?" The billionaire suggested, concerned.

As he played with the bowstring, Clint replied without making eye contact. "I can't, I'm helping Rocket and Thor." The scientist raised an eyebrow, the Avenger was far off from Rocket and Thor.

"Here, alone?"

"I'm just...I'm looking for something, Bruce.." Clint sighed, growing agitated.

"...Okay..." Bruce murmured, allowing Clint the space to gather his thoughts. "If you need anything, we'll be at the penthouse."

Shifting uncomfortably from standing too long, Tony coughed. Bruce glanced over his shoulder at him before gradually turning and walking back up the ramp. Watching, Clint exchanged a look with Tony and the assassin gave an understanding nod to the Golden Avenger. "Tony," Clint acknowledged and Tony returned a mutual nod before the archer walked off. With a sigh, Tony closed the ramp.

* * *

Entering the penthouse, Tony gazed around the space as Bruce set the backpack on the island. The area was dark, aside from the afternoon light peeking through the glass windows. Outside, the skies were beginning to look gloomy, like a storm was coming. "Well, it ain't the Tower or Compound, but it'll do." So far, Tony had admired the Wakandan city, but its priority was the least on his list. Of course, he was surprised to discover a hidden, futuristic city he was standing in, over a mountain of vibranium, but there were bigger problems to address first.

"Mr. Stark." The female voice startled Tony and he felt some panic stricken him, but then he saw the young, Wakanda woman standing by the windows on the opposite side of the penthouse.

"Um...hey..who-" Tony began.

"Tony, this is Shuri," Bruce explained, and Tony relaxed a bit.

"Ah, so you're the genius around these parts," Tony said, following Bruce to meet Shuri in the middle as she approached to greet them.

"I am, but I wanted to welcome you to Wakanda." Shuri reciprocated warmly, shaking his hand.

"I wish it were under other circumstances," the Avenger responded graciously, "Thank you, though, for your hospitality in such a dire time."

Shuri nodded, "It was the right thing to do."

Looking Shuri in the eyes, Tony could see the deep pain lingering, despite how strong she tried to remain. "I'm so sorry for your losses," Tony gave his condolences, empathizing with her sorrow. She was still young too, and all this tragedy was hard to face at a young age. Tony knew from experience.

The young woman complied emotionally, "And yours as well. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Luckily, I have bodies to care for me, but thank you," the engineer reassured, "I know you have an entire country to run, we'll try to keep out of your hair."

"There's no need, we're in this together now," she said with humility, "I'll let you get some rest. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Mr. Stark."

"Same to you, Shuri. Take care." Saying their farewells, Tony and Bruce walked her to the door.

When she was gone, Tony exhaled a heavy sigh. "It's a shame about her brother and mother," he mentioned, grabbing the backpack from the island and going over to the lounging area.

"From the brief moment I met T'Challa, I could tell he was a good man," Bruce noted, trailing behind Tony to the sitting area to keep a monitoring eye on him. A pale complexion was slowly crossing Tony's features. "Things could've ended a lot worse if not for Wakanda."

"A lot worse than genocide?" Tony comment disappointingly, setting his things on the coffee table while observing the pillows and blankets left for him on the sofa. He felt so tired already, and all the movement was becoming agonizing.

"I didn't say our situation wasn't a nightmare, but in all truth, Thanos could be here slaughtering and torturing us if he wanted." Bruce pointed out, but Tony was only half listening at the moment. "He can do anything with that gauntlet."

"Yeah, maybe our turn hasn-" The genius cut out as he laid down on the sofa with a painful moan.

"Tony," Bruce immediately asked, standing beside the sofa, "Can I do something to help?"

"No, I'm just...exhausted," Tony muttered, covering his eyes with a hand.

"You've done a lot today, all considering." Bruce questioned again, worriedly, "Are you sure you don't need anything? Food? Water?"

"Water," Tony mumbled, looking miserable.

Not lifting his hand from his eyes, Tony heard Bruce walk away. While Tony waited, he felt for a blanket and pulled it over him. "Tony?" He heard Bruce at his side again, but instead of a verbal response, Tony hummed in fatigue. "The water's on the floor beside you. Is there anything else you need?" Tony didn't feel like replying, so he said nothing and heard Bruce leave him.

* * *

Friday kept tabs on Tony, but when Bruce returned about forty-five minutes later to check on his friend he found him under the blanket, sitting up against the pillows reading his medical file. Tony seemed more relaxed, or as much as he could be in his and their current state, but it made Bruce nervous at him looking over all the X-rays, MRI scans, and all the other tests. "Hey," Bruce greeted, sitting on the sofa's arm, opposite of Tony.

"Hey," Tony said, still focused on the charts. "I didn't realize the damage was so..."

The scientist offered the word to his friend, "Extensive?"

"Feeling it is one thing, seeing the layers of it is another," Tony devised sagely.

"Is this the first you're seeing these then?" Bruce asked and Tony sighed for a yes. "Are you sure you want to look at those?" It unsettled Bruce, wondering how Tony felt reading all the details when he didn't need too. Why would he want to add more to the trauma? Bruce should've kept those files away from him, but Tony seemed to have other reasons, and he was a grown man.

"When I had the arc reactor in my chest, I was my only doctor," Tony retorted, upset from the memory, but he proceeded, "It may have been disturbing to look at, but it's what I had to do for myself."

The thought of it made Bruce frown, knowing how dark and cold of a world Tony had been exposed to. "You don't need to do this alone anymore," Bruce assured gently, trying to brace Tony away from the mistrust he dwelled in. "You have help, and I know that's hard to believe and trust, but it's true. I just wish you'd see that."

"...I do...it's just..." Tony had an expression on his face as if he was done tolerating bullshit-talk like that. "I spent most of my life looking out for myself, so it's...it's alien to me when people care. I'm a person that people hate, who they want to kill, I screw up every chance I get. Things were starting to change with the Avengers, but then that got broke too because of the Accords, and everyone got imprisoned except for Vision, Rhodey, and me. So, it's hard for me to digest that people care, aside from you, Pepper, and Rhodey."

The sternness of Tony's voice left Bruce in a place where he didn't know how to reply. What happened really scarred Tony and the rest of the team, and Bruce knew much of it was bitterness and anger from Tony about his parents. An ill look resided in Tony's eyes, and it wasn't a physical illness, it was a spiritual and emotional illness. The harsh, painful moment quickly fled, though, as the door to the penthouse opened and shuffling was heard. Tony couldn't see over the back of the sofa, but Bruce looked and saw Rocket dragging a large bag towards the lounging area. "Would you mind helping me instead of just sitting there?" Rocket said, agitated.

"Yeah," Bruce replied, leaving the sofa and reaching Rocket. He took the bag from the raccoon, briefly looking inside it. "What are these?"

"These are going to be our beacons," the Guardian explained, "They're from those transporters."

"Bruce, can you bring those over here, so I can see?" Tony called from the sofa and Bruce rejoined his friend with the bag. Rocket took longer to follow, limping over to the coffee table where Bruce set the bag next to on the floor. "What happened to your leg?" Tony asked Rocket, both Avengers noticing.

"Eh, I had to go crawling through those transporters. I thought we killed all the mutts, but one was still inside and attacked me." Tony and Bruce exchange a look at each other, not knowing what to say, but Rocket shrugged it off. "It's fine, not exactly the first time something's tried eating me. Anyway, so..." Pulling the orb out of the bag, Rocket set it on the coffee table along with one of the lights. Tony stared at it, examining it from a distance curiously as Bruce knelt down to Rocket's level. "This orb is what's running their technology. I've severed the link between the transporters in the field with the mother ship. Thor and Nebula are working on detaching the rest of these lights or whatever...we need to manually reprogram them each so they can't be re-hacked, and then we can merge your tech into it so it corresponds with Earth. Long story short, we can make these lights our beacons."

"How many do we have?" Tony asked, folding the medical records back up. He handed them off to Bruce, who put them on the coffee table while Tony picked up the glass of water on the floor beside him.

"This isn't even a fraction of the number of beacons we can activate, there's hundreds of them on those transporters. We'll be well supplied," the raccoon stated, turning his attention to Tony to answer, "I just need help fixing them because there's so many. The quicker they're activated, the quicker we can set them up."

"Well, the two of us will have to do for now," Bruce told Rocket.

"I'll put some together," the downed Avenger input.

"You sure?" Rocket pressed, his ears perking slightly.

"I've got nothing better to do," Tony answered blandly, drinking from the glass of water.

"Alright. When the others come back, we can ask for their help also," Bruce affirmed, "How do we reprogram these?"

"It seems complicated, but it's pretty basic technology." Rocket picked up a beacon and flipped it over to show the advanced wiring. Rocket messed around with it for a moment. "This gets removed, we re-attach these things, wire these things...and it's golden." Tony and Bruce watched closely and respectfully as Rocket showed them the process a second time. "You got it?" Rocket asked, his eyes focused up at Tony to be sure the injured man understood.

"Yeah," Tony said, setting the water on the floor and taking the fixed beacon from the raccoon to examine it. As he did, Rocket dispersed the deactivated lights.

* * *

Over the next few hours, Thor frequently stopped in to deliver more of the lights, well into early evening. The trio worked until several bags of activated beacons laid in a pile behind one of the sofas adjacent to Tony. The Guardian sat on the floor in front of a chair while Bruce was next to the coffee table, almost buried in the number of beacons surrounding them. Tony took breaks from time to time, but he was becoming both fatigued and bored. The last half hour he had been still and shut his eyes, bearing what lasting pain there was and waiting for Pepper. He hoped she'd be back soon. The Avenger hadn't seen her all day and wanted her to relieve Bruce of babysitting Tony. Calming darkness and sleep were growing in Tony's favor and the thought of Pepper laying by his side. The thought of that made Tony empathize for Clint with that feeling he remembered from when Pepper fell from his grasp. Those sickening minutes that passed where the only truth and reality was that Pepper was dead.

"You alright?" Rocket murmured and Tony cracked open his eyes hearing the voice, but he insecurely sighed in response.

As Bruce reprogrammed one of the beacons, he eyed Tony for a moment and then turned his gaze to Rocket. When the raccoon parted his jaws in a lazy yawn, the scientist realized he was getting antsy also. "Are you guys getting hungry?" Bruce quipped, setting the beacon he'd been working on down.

"Yeah, and my hands are cramping up..." Rocket answered, stretching his paws sorely.

As Bruce got to his feet with a grunt from sitting too long, he looked at Tony who hadn't reacted or responded. His friend's attention was on Rocket as the raccoon continued to finish up the beacons around him, but Tony was slowly drifting off and finding it harder to stay awake. Bruce let him be and left the area to head to the kitchen.

Tony shut his eyes for another moment, trying to find the motivation to get up, but he wasn't feeling it; just procrastination. However, he opened them when he heard the door open and people walking in. He knew it was his broken team or former team? The genius didn't know anymore, a lot was damaged between all of them, but he guessed they were all trying. The value of life was far greater and whether they were comfortable or not, the Avengers needed each other. The voices were low and tired, but Tony wasn't focused enough to make out any of it. He closed his eyes to the muffling, but the brief talk soon ended and Tony felt fingers running through his hair. Peeking up, he smiled at Pepper. "Hey," he groused.

"Hey," Pepper said soothingly, kneeling on one knee beside the sofa to be at Tony's level. Docile, she folded her hand in his, "How are you feeling today?" Once the Avenger gawked deeply in her eyes, Tony suddenly felt emotional, knowing that he could be vulnerable around her and allowing it. She knew of his pain, whether physical or emotional and in return Pepper squeezed his hand for comfort as her eyes reddened, but Tony quickly guarded the moment when Natasha stopped at the foot of the sofa. The assassin looked slightly apologetic, realizing she walked in on a moment, but the Guardian spoke up before she could leave.

"The three of us have been working on these beacons for four or five hours." Rocket was insightful, although his energy level and speed were much slower as he failed to stop fixing the beacons. "After we take a break, do you guys mind helping us?" The two women glanced at Rocket, observing the piles of beacons that littered the area.

"Yeah, we'll help," Natasha acknowledged, considering whatever worldly and political challenges they faced today. "Just let us catch our breath first."

"Busy day?" Bruce called from the kitchen, to which Natasha looked in his direction while folding her arms over her chest. The rest of the Avengers weren't in sight, blocked by the back of the sofa, but Pepper got up and went back towards the kitchen. Tony almost felt cold when she left, but the settling look Natasha gave him temporarily eased the anxiety.

"Don't even get me started," Rhodey disinclined in the background.

The Widow took a step towards the coffee table, seeing all of Tony's medical files laying on it. Briefly, she looked at them. His bag of belongings was next to them and the zebra was inside it. "See something you like?" Tony chimed in friendly, noticing her hovering and sensitive stance towards him. Sullenly, she shook the question off and sat on the sofa's arm across from Tony as he fortified the statement, "Was pretty bad, huh?"

She looked at her friend, sharing a mutual and respectful glance. "It's a miracle they were able to salvage everything," she complied, opening herself to the conversation if Tony wanted to talk. The billionaire looked unsurely, wondering if it was Natasha that needed to talk rather then him.

"So I've heard," Tony replied, still questioning his trustworthiness towards the assassin. "The blood vessels to my renal artery were severed."

Sympathetically, Natasha said, knowing the kidney was nearly unsaved, "I know." Tony looked upset at the topic, but he remained with an indifferent expression. "Is the pain becoming more manageable, at least?"

"It's unpredictable. The pain is still there, but it changes," the Golden Avenger was honest, realizing he missed these small talks with Natasha. "And the cough's still lingering, but some days are better than others."

For a moment, Natasha watched him, remembering all the times' dear friends ended up crucially hurt. It wasn't a lot, there weren't many people she was close with aside from the Avengers and Nick Fury and Maria Hill. There was a pain in her heart, confirming they were both gone from the Snap. "At least you're here with us, finally," she asserted, not knowing what more to say.

"Hardly," Bruce cut in unexpectedly, coming to stand beside Natasha, "I practically had to fight the doctors for him to be discharged."

This enacted a grateful hum from Tony, glad to be out of the hospital. Rhodey came and rested his elbows on the back of the sofa, joining the group. "Why don't you guys get some food," he offered, which sent Bruce and Natasha back towards the kitchen. Rocket roughly sighed as he finished his last beacon and got to his feet, knowing there was still much to do, including the group discussing the next step. "Do you want anything?" Rhodey asked, looking down at Tony from behind the sofa's back. The colonel was rather glad to see Tony here with them finally, showing at least some improved, even in the slightest.

"Not really," the billionaire answered.

Rhodey and Pepper exchanged a doubtful look. "Are you sure?" Pepper asked.

"Yeah, I'm just tired," Tony adhered, starting to look uncomfortable, "I honestly just want to sleep, but we're supposed to be swapping stories about our days."

"Actually," Rocket started, halting just before he was about to walk passed the couch, "we could just discuss all of this tomorrow morning. I'm whipped too."

"We all are," Pepper agreed, familiar with long days at Stark Industries, although that was nothing compared to dealing with worldly issues.

"I can hardly keep my eyes open, so I'm fine with that," Rhodey said to Rocket, "We've all been working endlessly."

"I can't even count how many hours of sleep I'm running on," the Guardian bickered.

Glancing over his shoulder, Rhodey looked back at Steve, Natasha, and Bruce in the kitchen. "Are you guys alright if we discuss everything tomorrow?" They exchanged considering looks with wary, sleep deprived expressions.

"Do we have the beacons set up?" Steve asked thoughtfully.

Rounding the couch, Rocket walked out front so he was visible from the kitchen. "We have part of them set up, but if anything happens in Earth's radius, my ship will detect it, as well as all of your technology. Give us at least seven hours of rest. We'll finish the beacons tomorrow and I'll be able to fly them out."

Steve thought thoroughly, seeing the exhaustion in the group. "Everyone gets eight hours." A slight mood of contentment enlightened as Steve shifted his weight and rested his back against the counter. His arms were crossed while he gazed at the floor, collecting his thoughts. "I know these past few weeks have been the most grueling we've ever faced." The super-soldier was sincere and understanding as he tried to give them some praise and encouragement, "But, I'm proud of you. All of you, for remaining strong through our mistakes and losses." Tony couldn't see anything, but he was nearly ready to roll his eyes, puzzled if that was supposed to be some type of apology or treaty. If it was, it was a poor way of doing that, even if the moment held integrity. "Get some rest, we'll talk in the morning." After that, he assumed Steve had left the room because the others continued keeping on.

The engineer was lost with mixed feelings, thinking he had come to the point of forgiving Captain America, but then the betrayed feeling would return remembering watching his parents' death and realizing he was standing right next to their killer. While the thing Steve said to stop him from going after Bucky was 'It won't change what happened'. What about an apology? What about better sympathy or empathy towards what Tony was forced to watch. It was a struggle putting all that behind him, even after Thanos, especially that split second when Tony thought Steve about to kill him with his father's shield. That was the true moment that shattered their friendship.

A tap on his shoulder broke Tony's mesmerization. "Come on," Pepper said, holding out a hand for him. Taking it, she helped him to his feet where he winced and placed a hand on his abdomen. She put an arm around him and together they benevolently walked towards the hallway. Rhodey, Natasha, Bruce, and Rocket gave Tony low-key, cautious looks, but they soon went back to their own worries.

"Wait a minute," Tony uttered to Pepper after doing a silent head-count of everyone in the penthouse. They both stopped so he could look over his shoulder at Natasha. "Nat, you may want to go check on Barton. Bruce and I saw him wandering the for- eh, jungle, earlier, alone."

The Avenger quickly looked concerned, realizing she hadn't heard from her friend since this morning. "You didn't bring him back with you?" Natasha questioned.

"We tried," Bruce explained, "he insisted on being left alone and said he'd see us later."

Rocket scoffed and rolled his eyes while walking from the table to the island. "That dude said he was helping us, then ditched us like some lost puppy." In the next second, Thor entered the penthouse, dragging another bag of beacons. "_Ek,_ no. Thor, we're done for the night. If I see another beacon, I'm going to puke," Rocket retorted in a cranky manner.

"Just doing what you asked," Thor replied, dropping the bag. He scanned everyone in the room before heading towards the hallway Pepper and Tony were standing by.

"Thor, have you seen Clint?" Tony asked.

"Not for a while, no." The Asgardian halted, adding, "He's not here?"

"No," Natasha said, "But it's fine, I'll go find him." The woman went to the counter to grab the keys to the penthouse.

Thor turned towards her. "Do you want somebody to go with you?" He suggested, knowing it was dark. Not that the Widow couldn't handle herself, but after everything that happened, the thought of a buddy system was in favor.

"No, I'll be fine," she responded hastily with a sigh, putting her jacket back on.

"We know you'll be fine, but don't go alone, Nat," Bruce agreed with Thor, and Natasha paused for a moment, seeing her friends' fret.

"I'll go with you, I know where Barton was last," Thor revealed, allowing himself a real excuse to go. Natasha nodded at him, and not needing to grab anything, both Thor and Natasha left.

Tony stood there hesitant, feeling anxious that three of his teammates were out of sight. And it wasn't because he was suspicious or mistrustful, but he cared. The Golden Avenger had lost enough. "Tony, come on. They'll be okay," Pepper assured, gingerly pulling him. He was slow at getting his attention back to Pepper, but when he did they both walked down the hall, passing by Steve's room. The door was shut and Tony felt his pace lessening, glaring at the door to the soldier's room. "What?" Pepper asked, seeing Tony's confused look.

"Nothing...it's just..." The billionaire sighed, wondering if he should let Steve know Natasha left to find Clint because he was currently missing. The thought then passed by, knowing somebody else would probably tell him. "Nevermind."

* * *

**to be continued...**


End file.
